Hungary Prime Minister Viktor Orban asked the European Union to start direct discussions with Russia about a ceasefire in Ukraine and abandon the plans of a joint statement in an extraordinary EU dome next week, saying that differences in the block “cannot be overcome”.
Under the command of President Donald Trump, the United States began conversations with Russia about the end of the Ukraine war, but without Kiev or the EU at the table, and Trump and Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky conflicted at a White House meeting on Friday (28).
Strategic differences
In a letter to European Chairman Antonio Costa, reported for the first time by the German newspaper Welt and seen by Reuters, Hungarian Prime Minister Viktor Orban said about the EU that there was “strategic differences in our approach to Ukraine that cannot be overcome.”
“I am convinced that the European Union-following the example of the United States-should go into direct discussions with Russia about a ceasefire and sustainable peace in Ukraine,” said Orban, an ally of Trump in the letter.
Irreconcilable
He said that this approach was not conciliable with the EU summit conclusions project next Thursday (6), which should focus on additional support to Ukraine, European security guarantees and how to pay for European defense needs.
“Therefore, I propose not to try to adopt written conclusions about Ukraine,” Orban said, alluding to the fact that decisions in EU summits need to be made unanimously.
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Since Russia invaded Ukraine in early 2022, Orban has emerged as a critic of EU sanctions against Moscow and the bloc’s financial and military support to Ukraine.
