Orbán’s Moscow Outreach Fractures V4 Summit as Poland Leads Anti-Russia Front
Hungary holds the 2025–2026 presidency of the Visegrád Group, having assumed the rotating role on 1 July 2025. The V4 heads-of-state summit, bringing together the presidents of Hungary, Poland, Czechia, and Slovakia, took place in Esztergom, Hungary, on 3 December 2025. The meeting was intended to support Hungary’s effort to re-energise the V4 as a forum for coordination around three priority areas: competitiveness, security, and connectivity.
However, significant political tensions overshadowed the summit. Prime Minister Viktor Orbán’s recent visit to Moscow to meet Vladimir Putin prompted Poland’s president, Karol Nawrocki, to cancel a planned bilateral meeting with Orbán. However, he still attended the summit itself.
How do the V4 countries differ in their handling of Russia?
1. Hungary
Orbán remains among the EU leaders most resistant to Russia-related sanctions and most reliant on Russian energy imports. Hungary remains heavily dependent on Russian energy and has repeatedly argued against the EU’s rapid efforts to end that dependence.
2. Slovakia
Since returning to power in 2023, Prime Minister Robert Fico has moved Slovakia in an increasingly pro-Russian direction. He halted state military aid to Ukraine, publicly criticised Kyiv, and expressed willingness to normalise relations with Moscow. His government also opposed the EU’s plan to phase out Russian gas imports by 2027, arguing that Slovakia, like Hungary, remains too heavily reliant on Russian energy and that the transition would harm its economy.
3. Czechia
Andrej Babiš’s ANO won the October 3–4, 2025, parliamentary election. Although Babiš, the head of government, states that he intends to reaffirm Czechia’s commitment to the EU and NATO, he is forming a coalition with more Eurosceptic and Russia-friendly parties. By contrast, the presidency remains firmly pro-EU, pro-NATO, and pro-Ukraine under President Petr Pavel, a former army general and former chair of NATO’s Military Committee. Under Babiš, Czechia could, at least partially, drift toward the more Russia-accommodating stance of Hungary or Slovakia.
4. Poland
Under newly elected President Karol Nawrocki, Poland is staunchly anti-Russian, one of the EU’s most uncompromising positions. Warsaw continues to condemn Russian influence, has been vocal in urging EU unity on Russia-related measures, and characterises Putin’s outreach as destabilising for Central Europe.
What does the Visegrád summit reveal?
Hungary has sought to emphasise cooperation despite disagreements, focusing on shared concerns such as energy costs, EU climate regulations, migration pressures, and regional connectivity. It also tried to reassert the V4 as a more independent and influential bloc vis-à-vis Brussels.
Yet the divisions over Russia ultimately dominated proceedings. The Polish delegation signalled that its priorities include countering Russian influence in Europe and strengthening regional energy security, reinforcing Warsaw’s pro-Ukraine, pro-EU, and firmly anti-Russia stance.
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