Hungarian Prime Minister Viktor Orban said on Monday that his talks with German Chancellor Olaf Scholz in Berlin were "fruitful."

"The conversation was fruitful. Everybody can be happy with it. It was more than two hours and we discussed all the very difficult issues," Orban said.

Scholz and Orban largely focused on the war in Ukraine during the talks.

The pair did not hold a joint press conference following the meeting.

Orban critical of Russia sanctions

Orban, who is the leader of the right-wing nationalist Fidesz party, has expressed criticism of sanctions imposed on Moscow by the European Union.

Despite the criticism, Budapest has voted in favor of sanctions, which required unanimous approval from all 27 EU member states to pass.

Orban's government recently announced that Hungary would hold a non-binding popular vote on EU sanctions on Russia.

On Tuesday, Orban will participate in a discussion about Russia's invasion of Ukraine and the energy crisis organized by Germany's Cicero magazine.

Former German Chancellor Angela Merkel's office told Germany's DPA news agency that she had also met with Orban on Sunday. No details on the content of the discussion were provided.

Budapest has been under pressure from Brussels over its stance on rule of law in the country. Last week, Hungary's parliament passed an anti-corruption law in a bid to unlock frozen EU funding.

sdi/ar (AFP, dpa)