Orban, a longtime Trump supporter, has also visited Kiev, Moscow and Beijing in the past two weeks on a self-described “peace mission” to end the Russia-Ukraine war.
Hungarian Prime Minister Viktor Orban met with former US President Donald Trump at his home in Mar-a-Lago, Florida, where the two discussed the “possibilities for peace”, the last stop in Orban’s solo race to secure a Russia-Ukraine ceasefire. war.
Orbán, a longtime Trump supporter, has visited Kiev, Moscow and Beijing over the past two weeks on a self-styled “peace mission” that has angered Hungary’s NATO allies.
“It was an honor to visit the President [Donald Trump] at Mar-a-Lago today. We discussed ways to make peace. The good news of the day: he will solve it!”, said Orbán on X.
Orban’s so-called peace initiative has angered many members of the European Union, whose rotating presidency Hungary assumed earlier this month.
Considered the European leader closest to Russia’s Vladimir Putin, Orban was in the United States this week to participate in a NATO summit organized by President Joe Biden.
Peace Mission 5.0
It was an honor to visit the President @realDonaldTrump at Mar-a-Lago today. We discuss ways to do #peace. The good news of the day: it will resolve! pic.twitter.com/AiTRsdexM5– Orbán Viktor (@PM_ViktorOrban) July 12, 2024
Hungarian Foreign Minister Peter Szijjarto told the Reuters news agency on Wednesday that Hungary believed a second Trump presidency would raise hopes for peace in Ukraine, and that Orbán hoped to end the war through talks of peace involving Russia and Ukraine.
Trump said he would quickly end the war, and the former president’s advisers reportedly presented him with a plan to end the conflict, in part, by making future U.S. aid to Kiev conditional on Ukraine joining peace talks.
Orban’s meeting in Moscow last week with the Russian president, in particular, angered some NATO members, who said the trip gave Putin legitimacy when the West wants to isolate him over his invasion of Ukraine.
Orban traveled to Kiev before visiting Moscow.
Orban’s ‘adventurism’; NATO’s frustration
Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy, who said he had not been informed by Orban about his trip to Russia, rejected the prime minister’s ambition to play the role of peacemaker.
“Not all leaders can negotiate. You need to have some power for that,” Zelenskyy said at a press conference at the NATO summit.
White House National Security Advisor Jake Sullivan, when asked about Orban’s peace efforts, said Ukraine would be rightly concerned about any attempt to negotiate a peace deal without involving Kiev.
“Any adventurism that is being undertaken without the consent or support of Ukraine is not something that is consistent with our policy, the foreign policy of the United States,” Sullivan said.
Two European diplomats told Reuters that NATO allies were frustrated with Orbán’s actions during the summit in Washington, but stressed that he did not stop the alliance from taking action against Ukraine. Several EU leaders also made clear that Orban was not speaking on behalf of the bloc in their discussions on the war in Ukraine.
“I don’t think there is any point in holding talks with authoritarian regimes that violate international law,” Finnish President Alexander Stubb said of Orban.
Meeting in Beijing on Tuesday with Chinese President Xi Jinping for “peace mission 3.0”, Orban said China was key to “creating the conditions for peace” between Ukraine and Russia.
Hungary has also diverged from its NATO allies on policy toward China, which the Western military alliance considers to be a facilitator of Russia’s war effort in Ukraine and which poses security challenges.
Hungary does not want NATO to become an “anti-China” bloc and will not support that happening, the country’s Foreign Minister Szijjarto said on Thursday.
This story originally appeared on Aljazeera.com read the full story
