Hungarian Prime Minister Viktor Orban made a surprise visit to Kiev, Ukraine, on his first visit to the country since the Russian invasion in 2022 and as his first move 24 hours after assuming the six-month presidency of the European Union.
Orban visits Kiev
The Hungarian Prime Minister and new rotating President of the EU, Viktor Orban, visiting Kiev today, told Volodymyr Zelensky that call for “an immediate ceasefire” to “accelerate peace negotiations”. Zelensky responded that war-torn Ukraine needed “a just peace.” Announcing his surprise trip to Ukraine, the Hungarian government said Orban “arrived in Kiev for talks with President Volodymyr Zelensky,” despite tensions within the EU over his opposition to aid to Ukraine and his alleged political closeness to Vladimir Putin.
Zelensky: “It is important that Europe maintains military support for Ukraine”
“It is important that Europe maintains military support for Ukraine as the army struggles to contain attacks launched by Russia” Ukrainian President Zelensky said during a press briefing in the presence of the Hungarian Prime Minister, Viktor Orban. “It is very important for all of us in Europe that Europe’s support for Ukraine remains at a sufficient level, including in our defense against Russian terror,” Zelensky said.
Hungary: “Talks to discuss the possibility of building peace”
“The most important topic under discussion” in Kiev between Orban and Zelensky, “is the possibility of building peace”: The Hungarian prime minister’s spokesman said, quoted by Hungarian news channel Mti. Orban’s spokesman Bertalan Havasi added that the two leaders will also discuss bilateral relations. Yesterday Zelensky said he hoped that the Hungarian EU semester would “effectively promote our values, shared European goals and interests. On its path towards the EU, Ukraine is ready to contribute to these efforts and to the strengthening of our Europe,” he added. Zelensky.
The Kremlin: “We have no expectations”
Russia “has no expectations” regarding the ongoing visit to Kiev of Hungarian Prime Minister Viktor Orban. The Kremlin spokesman said this: Dmitry Peskov. “It is clear that Hungary, which has assumed the EU presidency, must fulfill its functions,” the spokesman added, quoted by Ria Novosti agency. Peskov said that Orban had not held talks with Russia before the visit. Earlier, the Hungarian prime minister’s spokesman had said that “the most important topic under discussion” in Kiev between Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky and Orban, the European leader who has maintained good relations with Moscow, would have been “the possibility of building peace”. But Peskov, stressing that Hungary has taken over the rotating presidency of the European Union, said that during Orban’s talks in Kiev “it will be the responsibilities in the context of Brussels’ interests that will prevail”.
