The prime minister wanted to get to know the Ukrainian president's position and its limits better during the negotiations aimed at peace. As it turned out, Zelensky asked for time to think.
In an interview with the conservative Swiss newspaper Die Weltwoche, Prime Minister Viktor Orbán stated that during his visit to Kyiv, he did not want to convince Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky, but to find out "where are the limits" of Kyiv's position on the peace process.
Among other things, the Hungarian Prime Minister said about his meeting with the Ukrainian head of state on Tuesday: during the meeting, he tried to leave the "not very prosperous" relationship between the two countries behind and focus on the future.
He reminded Zelenskyi that a large number of Hungarian communities live in Ukraine, especially in areas that once belonged to Hungary.
He stressed that Ukraine must comply with the criteria set for EU accession, including respect for human and minority rights, adding that Kiev must prepare an action plan for this, which will help it move forward in the accession negotiations, but is also beneficial for the Hungarian community living in Ukraine.
The Hungarian Prime Minister said that he did not want to convince Zelenskyi, nor did he intend to make a specific proposal. He set himself the task of getting to know the Ukrainian president's position and its limits better during the negotiations aimed at peace.
He confirmed that, as the prime minister of the country currently holding the consecutive EU presidency, his aim is to prepare a report for the European Council on the possibilities of peace. Several proposals aimed at peace negotiations and the resolution of the conflict have already been made, he reminded, but their adoption could take months, for which there is currently no time, as people die every day. For this reason, he asked Zelenskyi to change the order, to first think about concluding a ceasefire, and then negotiations on the peace process can follow.
Viktor Orbán explained: Zelenskiy was "not too happy" about the ceasefire proposal and asked to think about it, because he had bad experiences with previous ceasefire proposals, which, in his opinion, did not benefit Ukraine, he added.
He stated: Zelenskyi understood Hungary's position and outlined the limits of his own position in terms of future decisions.
"We will see how we can continue from here," added the prime minister.
Regarding his unannounced trip to Kiev and the end of the war, Viktor Orbán explained: those who want to control events will never be successful, those who want to be useful and help others must first "let go of their ego".
What is really important is war and peace, the positions of Ukraine and Russia, as well as the interests of the European Union, he stated.
The decisions concerning war and peace are not made by Hungary, this requires the kind of authorization that is in the hands of the prime ministers and presidents who make up the European Council, emphasized Viktor Orbán.
"All things considered, I think we took a step forward today, and tomorrow we will take another," he added.
Regarding the European Union's performance as a foreign policy power, he said that everything depends on the leaders of the major European countries. He believed that
until the Germans, the French and the Italians get together and make proposals to each other, make joint decisions and deal too much with the distribution of EU positions, the current political situation and positions, there will be no change.
As he said, this is why he recently visited Berlin, Rome and Paris, and why he started the peace mission: to convince European leaders that they must take on the most important decisions, otherwise Europe will disappear from the international scene.
MTI
Cover photo: Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky (j) receives Prime Minister Viktor Orbán in Kyiv on July 2, 2024.
Source: MTI/Prime Minister's Press Office/Zoltán Fischer
