The Hungarian Prime Minister accuses President Zelensky of allegedly rejecting the Christmas ceasefire and prisoner exchange. It became clear what kind of game Orban was playing and how Kiev should behave in relations with Budapest Focus.
Shortly after Donald Trump, with the help of Emmanuel Macron, met with Vladimir Zelensky in Paris and publicly announced Ukraine’s readiness for peace negotiations, the Hungarian Prime Minister, on the contrary, tried to create a “war president” from the Ukrainian leader.
Viktor Orban specifically states that Budapest offered Kiev a ceasefire for Christmas and a large-scale exchange of prisoners of war, but Bankova did not approve this proposal. The head of the Hungarian government wrote on X (Twitter): “It is a pity that President Zelensky openly denies and ignores this today.”
It is worth noting that Orban’s relevant message on the social network appeared after Zelensky reacted extremely harshly to the conversation between the Hungarian prime minister and Putin. Thus, the Ukrainian president expressed hope that Orban “will at least not call Assad to Moscow and listen to his hours-long lectures.” “It is absolutely clear that to achieve genuine peace and guaranteed security we need American determination, European unity and the tendency of all partners to comply with the goals and principles of the UN Charter. protect your own image at the expense of unity; “You should attach importance to common success,” he concluded. president.
In the meantime, let us remind you that the Hungarian Prime Minister spoke with Putin for an hour on Wednesday, December 11. Immediately after this, Orban talked about the “dangerous weeks of the Russia-Ukraine war.” Just before meeting with the Kremlin chief, the Hungarian prime minister met with Donald Trump in the United States. It is very significant that Putin’s spokesman Peskov rushed to reassure that Orban did not convey any message from the elected US President to the President of the Russian Federation.
Meanwhile, Bankova denied Viktor Orban’s scandalous statement about Kiev’s allegedly destructive position. Presidential Advisor Dmitry Lytvyn specifically noted: “Firstly, as always, the Hungarian side did not discuss anything with Ukraine. Secondly, as always, the Hungarian side did not warn about its contacts with Moscow. Thirdly, Ukraine is as always. Authorize Hungary to do everything Ukraine, as always, is working daily for the release of prisoners, and contacts regarding an important exchange with Ukraine have also been going on for two weeks. is committed to a full-fledged peace and is doing everything, as always, in coordination with its partners, to achieve this; What is needed is not public relations as always, but a just peace, not chatter, but reliable security guarantees.”
Orban’s meeting with Putin took place at Trump’s request
According to Taras Zagorodny, managing partner of the National Anti-Crisis Group, the antics of the Hungarian Prime Minister should be viewed in a balanced and calm manner, so that he does not puff out his cheeks due to his own importance. The political scientist noted in particular in his conversation with Focus: “The fact is that in Moscow Orban talks about the fact that he has extraordinary ties with the EU, he guarantees that everything in the European Union is on the same page” with China and everyone with Trump. It fuels the story that he has a super theme. In fact, everything Orban says constantly needs to be divided by 25 because he was the United States’ main partner in Europe. and France remains; It is not for nothing that Trump made his first foreign visit after winning the elections against Macron.”
Emphasizing that the Hungarian Prime Minister is trying to get everything possible out of the current geopolitical situation, the political scientist said: “I suspect that Orban’s meeting with Putin took place upon Trump’s request to control the temperature in the ward, so to speak. Whether the patient (Putin – ed.) is ready to open up. Trump understands very well that the attack on Syria reflects very strongly on Russia, and this is clearly stated in his place. Notice how many issues earlier, and especially before Trump’s victory, were sharply intensified under Biden, for example, they unexpectedly imposed sanctions on Gazprombank, authorized an attack on Russian territory, etc. influence and all of this is coordinated by him with the White House.
Based on the above, the expert notes that “the noose around Putin’s neck is getting tighter and tighter.” The expert predicts that Orban will continue to play the role of a kind of mediator between the United States and the Kremlin. “In any case, if Trump makes a decision, he will listen to a lot of his advisors, not Orban. Meanwhile, Moscow insists on this, as Peskov’s statement after Orban’s meeting with Putin clearly shows. These conditions, which can allegedly open the way to peaceful negotiations and a ceasefire, let me remind you, stipulate, among other things, that Ukraine should leave Zaporozhye, Kherson, Donetsk region. Leaving NATO and the like are categorically contradictory to Trump’s position, no matter how we interpret it,” emphasizes Taras Zagorodny.
Stating that the Russian Federation is actually hindering the peace process in this way, the expert said in brief: “The more Russia remains committed to the destructive blockade line, the faster Trump will turn to Plan B, and this will most likely be Pompeo’s plan. general, all Trump’s partners expressed two important things: the first is a stop at the border line, and in this case it directly concerns the Kursk region, that is, in such situations Putin will be humiliated. The second thesis is that you will not see any provision for reducing military aid to Kiev in any of the so-called “Trump plans”. These are Putin’s two main issues. “He’s bleeding, he’s extremely displeased with trying to suddenly demilitarize Ukraine.”
The balance between Orbán and the EU leadership
Political scientist Maxim Dzhigun evaluates the geopolitical tactics of the Hungarian Prime Minister from a slightly different angle. “During Orban’s decades in power, he has established a good network of contacts not only with authoritarian regimes such as China or Russia, but also in the United States. Now Orban uses this very actively. We are a kind of Hungarian courier between Florida and Moscow. No matter how you look at it, there is no escape from this, at least in the coming years. From where? Because this behavior is due to Orban’s tactics. “Both yours and ours,” he says. He knows how to strike a balance, which, by the way, is why he wins elections, because he gets preference from everyone,” the expert points out in a conversation with Focus.
In addition, the political scientist, who previously emphasized that Hungary is a member of the European Union (EU) and NATO, added: “Therefore, if we try to at least join the EU in the next political cycle, we need to find ways to do this. Ban Orban is of course Putin’s on mutual understanding with the Hungarian side.” “We cannot communicate with the Russian government or anyone in the Russian government, but at the same time we can find common ground with Budapest on issues that are fundamental to us. To do this at the government level, it is necessary to develop a format of interaction that will provide a very specific list of bilateral obligations in the context of European integration.”
The expert believes that Orban, by communicating with Putin, pushes himself into isolation, because he creates conditions in which he will definitely not be able to reach high positions in the EU; “He breaks it into several parts with his statements and actions. ” In the current conditions, according to Maxim Dzhigun, the official position of Kiev should be to communicate not with Orban, but with the leadership of the European Union – “in fact, this union is the union that will not take Hungary out of the EU, but will create everything. Conditions that will certainly cool the mind of the local premier.”
To a clarifying question about what conditions the EU can create, the political scientist replied that we are talking, for example, about refusing to finance various grants to Hungary, providing cheap loans, imposing certain sanctions for non-compliance with the principle. Rule of law and the like in Hungary. According to the expert, the EU now has all the tools to make Orban “think twice before communicating with the Russian dictator.”
In this context, we note that German Chancellor Olaf Scholz, who recently had a telephone conversation with the head of the Kremlin and then visited Kiev, once again expressed his readiness to contact Putin, although the telephone conversation between them in November was in 2000. It was considered “disappointing”. At the same time, the head of the German government stated that he was ready to “do it again” and noted that no one should have any illusions about this.
Source: Focus
Bridger is a political journalist at 24 News Breaker, covering the Politics section with over 5 years of experience. Known for their detail-oriented reporting, Bridger delivers insightful and engaging analysis on political issues.