From July to the end of the year, Hungary is presiding over the EU Council. The start of its presidency was marked by Hungarian Prime Minister Viktor Orban’s so-called “peace mission.” Within the EU, there is growing concern about the role that Orban attributes to himself in this mission, as he represents only his own country.
Orban’s Secret Letter and Trip to Trump
After meetings in Moscow, Viktor Orban decided to “report back” to European leaders by writing a “secret letter” to Charles Michel. According to journalists, Orban briefly mentioned Ukraine’s position but elaborated more on Putin’s stance. In his letter, the Hungarian prime minister noted that the Kremlin is ready to consider a ceasefire on the condition that the Ukrainian army cannot reorganize. Russia also insists on the terms discussed in Istanbul in 2022, including Ukraine’s neutral status and Russia’s right to block military assistance to Ukraine.
Hungary’s Minister for EU Affairs Janos Boka announced that Budapest provided briefings to allies after Orban’s visit to Moscow. Now European states must independently decide their next steps based on the information provided.
After Moscow, Orban continued his “canoe diplomacy.” He discussed “peace” in Ukraine with Chinese leader Xi Jinping in Beijing and then, on the sidelines of the NATO summit in Washington, conversed with Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan. Following this, the Hungarian leader traveled to Florida, where he met with the Republican Party’s top candidate for the U.S. presidential elections, former President Donald Trump. After this meeting, which took place a few days before the attempt on Trump’s life, Orban wrote on social media X: “Peace mission 5.0. It was a great honor for me to visit President Donald Trump at Mar-a-Lago today. We discussed ways to establish peace. The good news of the day: he’s going to solve this problem!”
How Orban Undermines EU Unity and Ukraine’s Position
Roland Freudenstein, former president of the GLOBSEC analytical center, called Viktor Orban’s “peace-making visits” dangerous as they undermine Ukraine’s position. According to Freudenstein, Orban pretends that there is a compromise between Russia and Ukraine, proposing that Ukraine give up territory and at least partially recognize Putin’s demands.
Freudenstein also noted that the Hungarian Prime Minister undermines the unity of the European Union, forcing other leaders to distance themselves from him. A divided EU is advantageous to both Putin and Xi Jinping as well as Donald Trump. Viktor Orban enjoys trolling the EU authorities and major players within the European Union, thus feeling confident when he controls the situation.
Luka Flora Soltesh, an analyst from Visegrad Insight, considers Orban’s “peace-making trips” as pure PR, especially after the failure of the far-right in the European Parliament elections. She pointed out that this is mainly for his voters, as the election results did not meet Orban’s expectations. Soltesh emphasized that these trips do not represent a genuine peace initiative but rather a desire for publicity.
Read the first part of the series “Will Hungary’s Presidency of the EU Council be boycotted?” here:
Read the second part of the series “Will Hungary’s Presidency of the EU Council be boycotted? Part two” here:
