Hungarian Prime Minister Viktor Orban on Tuesday (Jul 2) arrived in Kyiv for his first visit to Ukraine since the outbreak of war and called for a speedy ceasefire in Ukraine to facilitate peace talks as he met Ukraine’s President Volodymyr Zelensky.
In a press conference, the Hungarian leader alongside Zelensky, said that the ceasefire he expects would be time-bound. He said, “I asked the president to consider whether… a quick ceasefire could speed up the peace talks.”
Notably, Orban is the only European Union (EU) leader who has maintained ties with Moscow since the start of the Russia-Ukraine war in 2022. He had not visited Kyiv since the war began.
He had in fact met with Russian President Vladimir Putin at a summit in Beijing in October 2023, becoming the first EU leader to do so since the start of the war.
The Hungarian PM regularly criticises Europe’s financial and military support for Kyiv, temporarily blocking a $53-billion aid package for weeks.
He also openly opposes holding EU membership talks with Kyiv as well as Brussels’ sanctions on Moscow.
However, during his visit to the war-ravaged nation, Orban appreciated Kyiv’s efforts to advance Zelensky’s peace vision at a recent international summit in Switzerland. He also praised Ukraine’s plans to host a follow-up summit later this year.
“My first trip led here because the question of peace is not only paramount for Ukraine but also for Europe. This war that you’re suffering from is deeply affecting European security. We very much appreciate those initiatives that President Zelenskiy did for peace,” Orban said during the press conference.
“I shared my opinion with the president that such initiatives take time, due to the rules of international diplomacy being slow and complicated,” he added.
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US Defense Secretary Lloyd Austin said on Tuesday that the United States will soon announce more than $2.3 billion in new security assistance for Ukraine. Austin’s remarks came during a meeting with his Ukrainian counterpart at the Pentagon.
Austin also gave a nod to Ukraine’s aspirations to eventually join NATO. At next week’s NATO summit in Washington DC, Austin said: “We will take steps to build a bridge to NATO membership for Ukraine.”
(With inputs from agencies)
