VATICAN CITY (AP) — Pope Francis met with Hungarian Prime Minister Viktor Orbán at the Vatican on Wednesday and discussed the war in Ukraine with him, focusing on the humanitarian situation and efforts to promote peace in the region.
Francis also discussed other topics with Orbán, including the Hungarian presidency of the Council of the European Union and the “central role of the family and the protection of young generations,” the Vatican said in a statement.
During his visit to Hungary last year, Francis met about 35,000 Ukrainian refugees who remained in Hungary. Nearly 2.5 million refugees entered the Eastern European country early in Russia’s invasion of Ukraine.
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Orban has repeatedly called for a ceasefire in the war. But he has refused to supply Kiev with weapons and threatened to veto EU sanctions on Moscow, while Hungary remains heavily dependent on Russian energy.
The Hungarian leader also met with Vatican Foreign Minister Pietro Parolin and Miroslaw Wachowski, the Vatican’s undersecretary for relations with states.
