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Viktor Orbán meets Volodymyr Zelenskyy on first war trip to Ukraine
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Hungarian Prime Minister Viktor Orban arrived in Kiev on Tuesday, marking the first time since Moscow’s full-scale invasion of Ukraine that the EU’s most pro-Russian leader has visited the war-torn country.
Orban met with President Volodymyr Zelenskyy and other top officials just days after the leaders spoke at an EU summit in Brussels. In a video shared on social media after the talks in Ukraine, he said the war “deeply affects European security” and suggested to Zelenskyy that Ukraine propose a deadline for a cease-fire that would pave the way for full-fledged peace talks with Russia.
Zelenskyy said the leaders focused on “how to bring a just and lasting peace closer.” He added that talks on “the most fundamental issues of our relations,” including trade, cross-border cooperation, infrastructure and energy, would form the basis of a new “bilateral document.”
Orbán, the most prominent critic of the EU and NATO military aid to Kyiv and one of the few Western leaders to meet with Russian President Vladimir Putin since the 2022 invasion, arrived in Kyiv a day after Hungary took over the rotating presidency of the EU Council.
“We are at Ukraine’s service during the Hungarian presidency. We will help in any way we can,” Orbán said on Tuesday.
Péter Krekó, director of the Budapest-based think-tank Political Capital, said: “As the EU presidency holder, Orbán wants to shake off his scandalous image and show that he is a loyal member of the club. He has not exactly turned things around yet – his vetoism and obstructionism will take longer to undo – but this could start a positive spiral.
“This does not mean that he will abandon the message of an immediate ceasefire and peace [in Ukraine] — any peace deal will likely require compromise from both sides and Orbán stands ready to reap the political reward if his long-held vision prevails.”
During the talks, Zelenskyy also urged all EU leaders to step up their military support Ukraine.
The Hungarian Prime Minister has regularly opposed financial aid to Ukraine and walked out of the room during a meeting of EU leaders in December rather than vote against the decision to open accession negotiations with Ukraine — a significant milestone on the country’s path to becoming a full EU member.
Orbán’s government also vetoed seven legal decisions supported by the other 26 EU member states that release 6.6 billion euros linked to arms supplies for Ukraine. It recently agreed to the start of formal EU accession negotiations between Kiev and Brussels, after blocking the talks for much of the past 12 months.
Budapest has justified its hardline stance on Ukraine by claiming that Kiev is failing to meet its demands for guaranteeing the rights of the country’s Hungarian minority. The criteria for EU membership include minority rights.
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Orbán said after the talks that he was hopeful of making progress in that area and agreed to develop Ukrainian-language schools to reflect the large number of refugees in Hungary.
Almost every EU leader except Orbán has visited Kyiv since Russia’s invasion of Ukraine in February 2022. He is also one of only two — along with Austrian Chancellor Karl Nehammer — having met Putin at that time.
At a conference in Budapest in December, the Hungarian prime minister said he had accepted an invitation from Zelenskyy to visit Kiev, but added: “I told him I would be at his disposal. We just need to clarify one question: about what?”
Zelenskyy also invited Orbán to the Ukraine Peace Summit in Switzerland last month. Orbán declined, but sent his foreign minister, Péter Szijjártó.
In response to efforts to block Hungary from taking over the EU’s rotating presidency, Orbán has promised other leaders to be a responsible broker of EU legislation, according to people close to the negotiations.