Orban to make surprise China visit – Hungarian media
July 08, 2024
Budapest has yet to confirm the Prime Minister’s travel plans following his surprise visits to Kiev and Moscow last week
Hungarian Prime Minister Viktor Orban is reportedly on his way to China after unexpected meetings with Russian President Vladimir Putin in Moscow and Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky in Kiev, the Hungarian news portal 444 reported on Sunday, citing sources.
”After Kiev, Moscow, and Azerbaijan, according to our information, Viktor Orbán is traveling to China. We understand that the Hungarian Prime Minister is scheduled to arrive in the Asian country at dawn on Monday,” the publication wrote, adding that the Hungarian government has not yet provided details of the trip.
Last week, Orban traveled to Kiev, where he met with Zelensky in an effort to persuade him to consider ceasefire talks with Moscow. The Hungarian PM then embarked on a surprise visit to Moscow, which, according to his office, was part of Orban’s “peacekeeping mission.”
Orban and Putin engaged in several hours of discussion aimed at finding the “shortest way out” of the conflict in Ukraine. The Hungarian leader, however, admitted that Moscow and Kiev remain “very far apart,” noting that Zelensky “didn't like” his proposals much.
Orban’s surprise trip to Russia sparked fury in Kiev and among fellow EU leaders, but the Hungarian PM stated that one of the most important steps to ending the conflict is “establishing contact” and argued that he doesn’t require an EU mandate to promote peace.
Hungary, which currently holds the rotating EU presidency, is one of the few bloc members, alongside neighboring Slovakia, that maintains neutrality and refuses to send weapons to Ukraine.
The news of a possible visit to Beijing comes as Hungary canceled “at short notice” a meeting between Foreign Minister Peter Szijjarto and his German counterpart, Annalena Baerbock.
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