Hungarian PM advocates for communication between Russian, Ukrainian leaders amid EU resistance

Hungarian Prime Minister Viktor Orbán has said that the EU does not support calls for a ceasefire in Ukraine.

He believes that both Russia and Ukraine feel that "time is on their side" and are unlikely to seek resolution on their own, Caliber.Az reports via foreign media.

Orbán argues that appropriate international conditions should be established for any meaningful dialogue.

"I made it clear to the Europeans: we must engage with China, facilitate communication between Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy and Russian President Vladimir Putin, and create an atmosphere that will eventually lead to positions enabling a ceasefire and peace negotiations. I wanted to foster such an atmosphere, but I failed because the EU outright rejected it. China was open to the idea, while the EU said 'no chance'- it wants to continue the war and defeat Russia. That is its stance: to defeat Russia," Orbán added.

Earlier, Orbán stated that during his trips to Moscow and Kyiv in July, he aimed to achieve at least a ceasefire, acknowledging that securing peace would be challenging. "I drafted a plan and visited both Kyiv and Moscow, trying to establish a ceasefire; we weren't even discussing peace negotiations. It's complicated; a peace plan is required," he said during a panel discussion organized by Weltwoche in Vienna.

Orbán believed he could convince both sides that "time was working against them" to reach a ceasefire.

He recounted that Russian President Vladimir Putin asked whether Russia would receive guarantees that Ukraine would not use the ceasefire to strengthen its position. 

"I was unable to provide those guarantees, that is why I failed," Orbán noted. 

In his summer meeting with Zelenskyy, Orbán tried to persuade him that "it would be worse in September." Zelenskyy, however, responded that "it would be better" and asserted that Ukraine "would prevail," Orbán added.

By Naila Huseynova