Orban Presents his “Peace Plan” Regarding Russia’s War Against Ukraine to EU Leaders
Prime Minister of Hungary Viktor Orbán sent a letter to the leaders of the European Union with his own “peace plan” for the settlement of Russia’s war against Ukraine, Balazs Orbán, political director of the Prime Minister of Hungary, said in an interview with the Hungarian newspaper Magyar Nemzet.
Viktor Orbán first visited the two sides of the war — Ukraine and Russia. There, the Hungarian premier became convinced that both countries were “determined to fight on”, so the official Budapest began negotiations with other possible mediators – China and Turkiye.
Balazs Orbán believes that the Europeans and the current US administration are now in favor of continuing the war. He also noted that if Europe wants peace and wants to have a decisive voice in the settlement of the war, it “must now design and implement a change of direction.”
The political director of the Prime Minister of Hungary stated that “Orbán’s peace plan” is already on the table of every EU leader, which includes “a realistic assessment of the situation, realistic goals, and a proper timeline.”
“We are convinced that the entire period of our country’s presidency in the EU should be used to create conditions for peace negotiations. If the EU does not act now, it may not be able to act later. In international politics, there are several players with whom it is worth negotiating and encouraging them to act together. So there are still many trips and negotiations ahead,” Balazs Orbán said.
Orbán’s “peacemaking mission”
On July 2, Hungarian Prime Minister Viktor Orbán came to Kyiv to meet with President Volodymyr Zelenskyy, where he urged him to “take a break, cease fire, and then start negotiations.”
This was Orbán’s first trip to Ukraine since 2010. The prime minister arrived the day after Hungary’s six-month presidency of the Council of the European Union began.
After visiting Ukraine and the Russian Federation, Orbán went to China, a long-time ally of Russia, which does not support the Ukrainian “peace formula”, but instead promotes its own. At the meeting with Orbán, Chinese President Xi Jinping also talked about a “quick ceasefire and a political settlement” of the Russo-Ukrainian war, without specifying whether this includes supporting Ukraine’s territorial integrity.
After the visit to Kyiv, Orbán went on an unannounced visit to Moscow. However, Ukraine and the EU emphasized that he does not have any authority to conduct negotiations on behalf of the European Union or Ukraine. In response to criticism, Orbán himself admitted that he did not have a mandate for “peace talks”, but claimed that Budapest “can be a good instrument of peace” in the hands of others.
