MOSCOW, July 5. /TASS/. Hungary is a sovereign country and is not going to respond to EU criticism of Prime Minister Viktor Orban's visit to Russia, Hungarian Foreign Minister Peter Szijjarto said.

"We are a sovereign country, so I don't think we should pay attention to this kind of criticism," he told reporters following Orban's talks with Russian President Vladimir Putin in the Kremlin.

Some European politicians criticized the Hungarian prime minister's visit to Moscow. European Council President Charles Michel and top EU diplomat Josep Borrell said that Orban had no EU mandate to negotiate with Russia, and reminded him that even in his capacity as president of the EU Council, he could not represent Brussels on the international stage.

Disapproval was also expressed by European Commission President Ursula von der Leyen, German Chancellor Olaf Scholz and Italian Foreign Minister Antonio Tajani.