European Union chief Ursula von der Leyen has ordered top EU officials to skip a series of meetings in Hungary amid ire over Prime Minister Viktor Orban's trip to meet Russian President Vladimir Putin, Brussels said on Monday.
Orban — whose country this month took over the rotating presidency of the body representing the EU's 27 nations — enraged his fellow leaders by jetting off to Moscow on July 5.
The talks with Putin were part of what Orban — the Kremlin's closest EU friend — described as a "peace mission" over Russia's war in Ukraine, which also involved visits to China and former U.S. President Donald Trump.