Hungarian Prime Minister Viktor Orbán has met with former US leader Donald Trump at his Mar-a-Lago home in Florida and discussed resolving the conflict in Ukraine as part of his peace mission.
Orbán has visited Kyiv, Moscow and Beijing in the past fortnight as part of a self-proclaimed “peace mission” that has angered Hungary’s NATO allies.
“It was an honour to visit President [Donald Trump] at Mar-a-Lago today. We discussed ways to make peace. The good news of the day: he’s going to solve it!”, Orbán said on X.
Donald Trump, commenting on his meeting with Viktor Orbán, wrote on his Truth Social network, “Thank you Viktor. Peace must come, and as soon as possible.”
Orbán’s so-called peace initiative has irritated many members of the European Union, whose rotating presidency Hungary took over earlier this month.
Hungarian Foreign Minister Peter Szijjarto told Reuters news agency on Wednesday that Hungary believes Trump’s second presidency will boost hopes for peace in Ukraine and that Orbán hopes to end the war through peace talks involving Russia and Ukraine.
Italian journalist and activist Maurizio Belpietro wrote on X:
Many EU countries are calling for a crackdown on Hungary’s prime minister as he seeks peace in Ukraine, shattering Moscow’s supposed marginalisation. Which doesn’t exist, given that India’s Narendra Modi has just visited there….
Trump has said he would end the war quickly, and advisers to the former president have reportedly presented him with a plan to end the conflict, specifically making future US aid to Kyiv contingent on Ukraine joining peace talks.
Orbán’s peace mission
Orbán visited Kyiv on July 2 on a “peace mission” where he met with Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky. The Hungarian politician proposed a plan to resolve the conflict, which Zelensky rejected.
Then, on July 5, the Hungarian head of government arrived in Moscow with a delegation and held talks with Russian President Vladimir Putin. They discussed topical international issues, including ways to resolve the conflict in Ukraine. The prime minister’s visit to Russia caused a flurry of criticism from European politicians. In addition, the White House expressed concern over his meeting with Putin.
On Monday, Prime Minister Orbán met with Chinese President Xi Jinping. He emphasised that China is a key force for a peaceful outcome of the conflict in Ukraine. From Beijing, the Hungarian politician went straight to Washington for the NATO summit, which ended on July 11.
