Hungarian PM Orbán to visit ally Putin in Moscow

Seen as Putin's closest EU ally, his meeting with Russian president will be watched nervously in Europe's capitals

Hungary's prime minister, Viktor Orban, will travel to Moscow on Tuesday in a visit that has drawn criticism from the country's political opposition and is being watched nervously in other European capitals.

Orban, who has developed a reputation as Vladimir Putin's closest ally inside the European Union, is due to meet the Russian president just as other EU leaders are trying to hash out a coordinated position on Russia's menacing moves around Ukraine's borders.