Orbán’s ‘peace mission’ helps only Putin, says Czech prime minister

Petr Fiala, in his office in Prague, says Europe needs to step up assistance to Ukraine and to boost its own defences. Photograph: Lili Bayer/The Guardian

Viktor Orbán’s efforts to style himself as a high-level peacemaker by meeting world leaders including Vladimir Putin are “wrong” and “not in the interest of Europe”, the Czech prime minister, Petr Fiala, has said, recalling lessons from attempts to appease Adolf Hitler before the second world war.

The Hungarian prime minister has stoked controversy in recent weeks for embarking on what he has termed a “peace mission” while his country holds the Council of the EU’s rotating presidency. The international trips have involved meetings with Putin, China’s Xi Jinping and Donald Trump.