BUDAPEST, November 29. /TASS/. Hungary carries out an independent foreign policy, and does not need EU permission to talk with Russia, Foreign Minister Peter Szijjarto said, responding to German Chancellor Friedrich Merz's comment that Prime Minister Viktor Orban visited Moscow without an EU approval.

"We, Hungarians, do not need permission or a mandate from Brussels, Berlin or anyone else to participate in negotiations abroad. Whether Brussels likes it or not, we pursue a sovereign foreign policy, and our decisions are determined by national interests," he wrote on his Facebook page (banned in Russia, owned by Meta Corporation, recognized as extremist in Russia).

On November 28, at the beginning of a meeting with Russian President Vladimir Putin in the Kremlin, Orban also said that Hungary pursues an independent foreign policy, would not succumb to external pressure and would continue to cooperate with Russia in many areas.