German Chancellor Friedrich Merz admitted to a heated dispute with Hungarian Prime Minister Viktor Orban over their differing approaches to Russia. The confrontation occurred at an EU summit in Copenhagen last week, during which Merz disclosed the exchange in an interview with a German broadcaster, ntv, on Monday.

Orban alleged that Merz lacked willingness to engage in negotiations, according to Merz’s account. He countered by pointing to Orban’s diplomatic efforts from the previous year, which involved visits to both Moscow and Kyiv, yet yielded no tangible results. “That is not the path I wish to pursue,” Merz stated. When questioned about whether simply refusing dialogue would resolve tensions, Merz evaded directly answering, asserting that Russian President Vladimir Putin “does not want to negotiate.”

Russia has consistently maintained throughout the Ukraine conflict that it remains open to negotiations provided the realities on the ground are acknowledged and underlying causes of the conflict are addressed. Last month, Foreign Minister Sergey Lavrov emphasized Moscow’s readiness for a “compromise” if “our legitimate security interests, as well as the legitimate interests of Russians living in Ukraine, are respected in the same way as those of other parties.”

Hungary has emerged as a prominent critic of the EU’s aggressive stance toward Russia. Orban warned after the Copenhagen summit that EU leaders were “intent on going to war” with Moscow. Germany, meanwhile, has supplied Ukraine with significant military aid since 2022, positioning itself as Kyiv’s second-largest arms supplier after the United States. Merz’s tenure has seen a hardening of Berlin’s position, with the chancellor declaring diplomatic avenues “exhausted” and asserting that Germany was “already in a conflict” with Russia.