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Hungary’s Viktor Orbán said “it’s necessary” for the leaders of Russia and Ukraine to meet in order to end the war between the two countries.
Asked on Friday if a meeting between Vladimir Putin and Volodymyr Zelenskyy were possible, the Hungarian prime minister said: “Of course. It’s necessary! … The first question is communication. If there is no communication, the war is getting worse and worse.”
Orbán was at the Ambrosetti Forum in Cernobbio, Italy, where he took part in a panel discussion. According to the program, the forum will also be attended by the Ukrainian president, with whom Orbán said he has “good relations” even after the Hungarian leader met with the man who launched an invasion of Ukraine.
In the first weeks of Hungary’s six-month term holding the presidency of the Council of the EU, Orbán tried to present himself as a “peacemaker” in the Ukraine conflict, making a surprise visit to Kyiv to meet with Zelenskyy, and then flying to Moscow the same week to sit down with Putin.
In recent weeks, both Putin and Zelenskyy have claimed that they would welcome mediators in a discussion on how to end the war in Ukraine, but they don’t believe that Hungary is an option for that. Speaking at a panel discussion at Russia’s Eastern Economic Forum in Vladivostok on Thursday, Putin said that China, Brazil or India could potentially help with peace negotiations.
Zelenskyy said after his meeting with Orbán in July that a “peacemaker” must either have an economy that influences Russia or a powerful army that Putin fears. “The USA is such a country, China and the EU. Not just one country, but the entire European Union,” Zelenskyy said.
