Hungary’s Orban meets pope with Ukraine war as backdrop

By NICOLE WINFIELD and JUSTIN SPIKE
Associated Press

VATICAN CITY (AP) — Hungarian Prime Minister Viktor Orban has met with Pope Francis at the Vatican as the war in Ukraine cast a shadow over two leaders who have long sought closer ties with Russia.The 45-minute meeting was the second between Francis and Orban in less than a year. But it couldn’t have been more different in tone. When the pope made a brief stop in Budapest to close out a church congress, the awkwardness of their September encounter was evident given their starkly different views of mass migration to Europe. But on Thursday, a smiling and jovial Francis showed his appreciation for the welcome Hungary had provided to Ukrainians fleeing the Russian invasion of their country.