Hungary abruptly told Germany’s foreign minister that she wasn’t welcome after her boss, Chancellor Olaf Scholz, excoriated Hungarian Prime Minister Viktor Orban over his unannounced trip to Moscow.

Orban met with Russian President Vladimir Putin on Friday as part of a self-styled “peace mission” to gauge the chances for an end to Russia’s war against Ukraine, triggering condemnation from Scholz and other European Union leaders who said Orban had no mandate to represent the bloc.

The Russian and Hungarian leaders “talked about the possible ways of resolving” the Ukraine conflict, Putin said in remarks after a bilateral meeting.

Orban in turn said “positions are far apart” between the two sides with “many” steps needed to achieve peace.

Orban, who visited Kyiv a day after he took over the EU’s six-month rotating presidency on July 1, said before the meeting that he had no intention of representing the 27-member bloc.

German Foreign Minister Annalena Baerbock was scheduled to meet her Hungarian counterpart in Budapest on Monday for talks, but the Hungarian government cancelled the session on Friday evening on short notice to the surprise of the German government, according to an official in Berlin.

In light of Orban’s freelance trip to Russia, a serious and honest discussion between the two foreign ministers would have been very important, the official added.

Scholz told reporters earlier Friday that Orban had given him no advance notice about his travel plans. “The European Council is represented by Charles Michel in terms of foreign policy – and not Hungary,” Scholz said, referring to the European Council president.

Ukraine can rely on Europe’s support and Russia’s invasion of Ukraine must not succeed, the chancellor added.

In a meeting in Kyiv on Tuesday, Orban urged Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky to consider a ceasefire. Zelensky has repeatedly dismissed demands for a ceasefire with Moscow, insisting that Russian forces withdraw from Ukrainian territory.

Michel issued a public warning late Thursday to make clear that Orban did not speak for Brussels after he was unable to reach Hungarian officials or confirm the trip, according to a person familiar with the matter who was granted anonymity to speak about sensitive conversations.

The EU has firmly opposed Russia’s military offensive in Ukraine, imposing 14 rounds of unprecedented sanctions on Moscow.

“That position excludes official contacts between the EU and President Putin. The Hungarian Prime Minister is thus not representing the EU in any form,” EU foreign policy chief Josep Borrell said in a statement.

The White House also criticised the trip as “counterproductive” and the Nato military alliance, of which Hungary is a member, distanced itself.

Orban’s visit “will not advance the cause of peace and is counterproductive to promoting Ukraine’s sovereignty, territorial integrity and independence,” White House press secretary Karine Jean-Pierre said.

Nato head Jens Stoltenberg said Orban had informed the alliance of his trip but stressed the Hungarian leader was “not representing Nato at these meetings. He’s representing his own country”.

Polish Prime Minister Donald Tusk expressed disbelief at Orban’s Moscow trip, while Finnish Prime Minister Petteri Orpo called it “disturbing news”.

But Slovak leader Fico, whose country has like Hungary refused to send military aid to Ukraine, expressed his “admiration” for Orban’s trips to Moscow and Kyiv.

“There are never enough peace talks and initiatives,” Fico said in his first public appearance since a May 15 assassination attempt.

Kremlin spokesman Dmitry Peskov told Russian state TV the visit had been Orban’s idea and Russian officials only heard about the trip on Wednesday – a day after Orban had visited Kyiv.

Orban and Putin last met in October 2023 in Beijing, where they discussed energy cooperation.