BEIJING (AP) — Prime Minister of Hungary Viktor Orbán is making a surprise visit to China on Monday, following similar trips to Russia and Ukraine to discuss the prospects for a peaceful settlement in Ukraine.
“Peace mission 3.0” was how Orbán captioned a photo posted Monday on social media platform X, depicting him after he disembarked from his plane in Beijing. He was being received by Chinese Vice Foreign Minister Hua Chunying and other officials.
Orbán later met with Chinese President Xi Jinping, according to state broadcaster CCTV.
His previously unannounced visit follows similar trips last week to Moscow and Kiev, where he proposed that Ukraine consider agreeing to an immediate ceasefire with Russia.
His visit to Moscow drew condemnation from Kiev and European leaders.
“The number of countries that can dialogue with both sides in the conflict is decreasing,” said Orbán. “Hungary is slowly becoming the only country in Europe that can talk to everyone.”
Hungary assumed the EU’s rotating presidency in early July and Russian President Vladimir Putin suggested that Orbán had come to Moscow as the European Council’s main representative. Several senior European officials rejected that suggestion and said Orbán had no mandate for anything beyond a discussion of bilateral relations.
The Hungarian Prime Minister, widely considered to have the warmest relations with Putin among EU leadershas routinely blocked, delayed or diluted EU efforts to help Kiev and impose sanctions on Moscow for its actions in Ukraine. He has long advocated the cessation of hostilities in Ukraine, but without outlining what this might mean for the country’s territorial integrity or future security.
This stance frustrated Hungary’s allies in the EU and NATO, who denounced Russia’s actions as a violation of international law and a threat to the security of Eastern European countries.
