Hungarian Prime Minister Orban visits Kyiv to discuss peace with Russia

Hungarian Prime Minister Viktor Orban arrived in Kyiv for negotiations with Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky. Orban and Zelensky will discuss "a possibility of achieving peace.”

"The purpose of the Hungarian Presidency [at the Council of the EU] is to contribute to solving the challenges that the European Union is facing. Therefore, my first trip took me to Kyiv,” Orban said.

Before going to Kyiv, Orban announced conditions for a ceasefire in Ukraine. According to him, this will happen if Donald Trump wins the US election and takes office as President again.

The Hungarian Prime Minister also said that negotiations between Russia and the United States would begin "sooner or later.” He noted that "Europe needs to think who is going to represent its interests and how.”

Ukrainian political scientist Vladimir Fesenko believes that Orban came to Kyiv to demonstrate his political weight as a representative of the European Union. Hungary began its presidency of the EU Council on July 1. Therefore, Orban has to deal with the Ukrainian crisis, which is one of the key issues that the EU is dealing with today, the political scientist believes.

State Duma deputy Svetlana Zhurova suggested in an interview with lenta.ru that Orban would try to make it clear to Zelensky that Kyiv's intractability and unpreparedness for peace was posing a threat to the European Union.

Kremlin's official spokesman Dmitry Peskov noted that Moscow was not expecting anything from Orban's trip to Ukraine.

Hungary "must fulfill its responsibilities” after the country chaired the EU Council, he said.

Orban asks for ceasefire before peace talks could start

Hungarian Prime Minister Viktor Orban said that he asked Ukrainian President Zelensky to consider the possibility of a ceasefire before peace negotiations with Russia, Strana.ua reports. The Hungarian leader believes that this will speed up the peace process.

Following the meeting, the heads of state also announced that they agreed to work on an agreement that would resolve their bilateral problems. The leaders also agreed to open the first Ukrainian school in Hungary at the expense of Budapest.

Viktor Orban arrived in Kyiv on July 2. This is his first trip to Ukraine since the start of the Russian military operation. Before the visit, Hungarian government spokesman Bertalan Havasi said that the main topic of Orban's negotiations with Zelensky would be "a chance to achieve peace.”

Russian President Vladimir Putin announced before Orban's visit to Kyiv that peace negotiations could begin immediately if Ukraine withdrew its troops from the Donetsk People's Republic, the Luhansk People's Republic, as well as from Zaporozhye and Kherson regions, which became part of Russia in September 2022. Putin also demanded the status of those territories, as well as the status of Crimea and Sevastopol be enshrined as Russian territories. If the conflict continues, the realities on the ground will change and "the conditions for negotiations will be different," he also said.

Zelensky called Putin's suggestions an ultimatum. Zelensky believes that Russia will not stop the offensive. At the same time, Kyiv is ready to begin negotiations with Moscow "tomorrow” if Russia agreed to withdraw its troops, the Ukrainian president said.