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Viktor Orbán to meet Swiss president in Bern

Orban and Putin
Viktor Orbán (left), known as a confidant of Russian President Vladimir Putin (right), has been criticised internationally Sputnik

Hungarian Prime Minister Viktor Orbán will give a speech in Zurich on Wednesday at the invitation of the magazine Weltwoche. On Tuesday Swiss President Alain Berset and Foreign Minister Ignazio Cassis will receive him for a courtesy visit.

Orbán’s courtesy visit to Bern was reported by Swiss public radio, RTS, and the Tamedia newspapers. Government spokesman André Simonazzi confirmed the visit on Saturday at the request of the Swiss News Agency Keystone-SDA.

The Weltwoche event will be held in the morning at the Dolder Grand hotel in Zurich. The initiative for the meeting with the Swiss government came from Orbán.

+ The Hungarians who sought a new home in Switzerland

Known as a confidant of Russian President Vladimir Putin, Orbán has been criticised internationally, particularly since the Russian attack on Ukraine. Hungary formally supports the sanctions against Russia, but Orbán’s meeting with Putin in Beijing a month ago has raised additional concerns, which were publicly expressed by the US ambassador to Hungary, David Pressman.

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