Hungarian Prime Minister Viktor Orban, one of the few European leaders to maintain warm relations with Moscow and calling on Kyiv to capitulate to Russian demands to end the bloodshed, arrived in Ukraine on Tuesday morning on his first visit to the war-torn country. his spokesman said.
A vocal critic of providing military and other financial assistance to Ukraine, who relishes his role as strange man in both the European Union and NATO, Mr. Orban said in an interview with Hungarian media on Monday night that the visit would be “the first steps” in advancing his vision of ending the war.
That vision stands in stark contrast to the plan outlined by Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky, whose government has repeatedly said that Russia must withdraw its troops from internationally recognized Ukrainian territory before any peace talks can begin. However, Russian President Vladimir V. Putin, no sign of backing downmaking the two sides more and more distant from each other.
“He is trying to get out of the political no-man’s land in the EU, and showing a more open approach to Kyiv will play an important role in this,” said Zgut-Przybylska, an associate professor at the Polish Academy of Sciences who has written extensively about Russian influence in Hungary.
Although Hungary recently took over the rotating presidency of the European Union, he would not be able to “occupy Brussels” as he had vowed, and therefore had to find another tactic to exert his influence, she said.
Although Mr Orban has publicly welcomed Moscow — including meeting with Mr. Putin in Beijing, where he told the Russian leader that Hungary “never wanted confrontation with Russia” and “always wanted to expand relations” — Mr. Zelensky said it was important for the leaders of Ukraine and Hungary to hold formal discussions.
“We need to have a constructive meeting between our countries, because we share a border, we are neighbors and we need to talk,” Mr. Zelensky said in December After the two leaders had a brief meeting, animated chat in Argentina during the inauguration of the country’s newly elected president.
Mr Zelensky said the two sides had had “frank” discussions and that he had pressed Mr Orban over his opposition to Ukraine’s bid to join the European Union.
“I asked him to give me just one reason,” Mr. Zelensky said. “Not three, not five, not 10, just one reason, and I am waiting for an answer.”
Mr Orban told reporters after the meeting that he had accepted the invitation to visit Ukraine, but with conditions.
“I told him I would serve him,” Mr. Orban said. “We just need to clarify one question: About what?”
That remained unclear as Mr Orban’s motorcade approached the Hungarian Embassy on Tuesday ahead of his scheduled meeting with Mr Zelensky.
“The trip does not mean that the Hungarian government will change its politics,” said Professor Zgut-Przybylska. “Orban has been playing this ‘peacock dance’ for a decade and Hungary’s energy dependence on Russia will remain as strong as ever.”
