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Concerning his meeting with the Ukrainian head of state on Tuesday, the Hungarian Prime Minister said, among others, that during the talks his aim was to leave the “not too flourishing” relations between the two countries behind and to focus on the future. He reminded Mr Zelenskyy that there is a large Hungarian community living in the territory of Ukraine, especially in territories that once belonged to Hungary. He stressed that Ukraine must fulfil the criteria related to accession to the EU, including the observance of human and minority rights, adding that to this end, Kiev is required to make an action plan which helps with the progress of the accession talks, but is also advantageous for members of the Hungarian community living in Ukraine.
The Hungarian Prime Minister said he did not want to convince Mr Zelenskyy, and had no intention of making specific proposals either. He set out to learn during the meeting aimed at the restoration of peace more about the Ukrainian President’s position and its limits. He confirmed that as prime minister of the country currently holding the rotating EU presidency, his goal is to prepare a report for the European Council about the possibilities for peace. Multiple proposals aimed at peace negotiations and the resolution of the conflict have been conceived to date, he recalled, but it could take months to adopt these, and currently there is no time for this, given that every day people are dying. With regard to this, he asked Mr Zelenskyy to reverse the order; to first consider concluding a ceasefire, to be followed by negotiations about the peace process.
Mr Orbán said Mr Zelenskyy was not especially pleased about the ceasefire proposal, and asked for more time to consider the idea because he has had negative experiences regarding ceasefire proposals; in his view, they have not favoured Ukraine so far, he added.
He pointed out that Mr Zelenskyy had understood Hungary’s position and outlined the limits of his own position in relation to future decisions. “We will see how we can continue from here,” the Prime Minister added.
In connection with his unannounced visit to Kiev and the conclusion of the war, Mr Orbán said those who want to control events will never succeed, while those who want to be useful and want to help others must first make concessions. What is truly important is the issue of war and peace, the positions of Ukraine and Russia, and the best interests of the European Union, he laid down.
Decisions concerning war and peace are not made by Hungary; this requires a mandate that is in the hands of the heads of state and government comprising the European Council, Mr Orbán highlighted. “All in all, I believe that today we have taken a step forward, and tomorrow we will take another,” he added.
Regarding action on the part of the European Union as a foreign policy power, he said everything depends on the leaders of the large European countries. He took the view that until the Germans, French and Italians combine forces, table proposals and make decisions together, and as long as they are more concerned with the distribution of positions in the EU and the momentary political situation and positions, there will be no change.
He said this is why he recently visited Berlin, Rome and Paris, this is why he launched his peace mission: to convince European leaders that they must undertake to make the most important decisions, or else Europe will disappear from the international scene.
