MOSCOW, July 5. /TASS/. Hungarian Prime Minister Viktor Orban said on Friday he wanted to hear about a stance held by Russian President Vladimir Putin regarding a number of key issues that are significant for Europe.

"I would like to use this opportunity… to learn your stance regarding a number of issues that are significant for Europe," Orban, who arrived in the Russian capital of Moscow earlier in the day, said at a meeting with Putin.

Earlier on Friday, Orban told Hungary’s Kossuth radio station that he would like to persuade the parties to the conflict - Ukraine and Russia - to embark "on a long journey that can lead to a ceasefire and peace talks."

On July 2, Orban visited the Ukrainian capital of Kiev, where he met with the country’s President Vladimir Zelensky and suggested that Ukraine should announce an immediate ceasefire and negotiate with Russia.

However, Kiev rejected Hungary’s initiative. President Zelensky said later in an interview with Bloomberg that such an idea could only be discussed on a transparent platform "in the presence of countries with trusted leaders." According to him, a ceasefire would only freeze the conflict, not end it.

After his trip to the Ukrainian capital of Kiev, Orban said that he would brief the EU leadership and the leaders of other EU countries on the outcome of his meeting with Ukrainian President Zelensky.

Hungary currently holds the six-months presidency of the Council of the European Union. However, European Council President Charles Michel said that Hungary did not have an EU mandate to hold talks with Ukraine and Russia. Orban, in turn, noted that Hungary did not need a mandate because it was acting on its own behalf.