Hungary’s Prime Minister Viktor Orban and Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskiy attend a joint news briefing, amid Russia’s attack on Ukraine, in Kyiv, Ukraine on July 2, 2024.
| Photo Credit: Reuters

Hungarian Prime Minister Viktor Orban urged Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskiy on Tuesday to consider a ceasefire to accelerate an end to the war with Russia and also said he wanted a big cooperation agreement with Kyiv.

Mr. Orban, who is an outspoken critic of Western military aid to Ukraine and has the warmest relations of any EU leader with Russian President Vladimir Putin, held talks with Zelenskiy during his first trip to Kyiv in more than a decade.

In brief joint statements to reporters after the talks, Mr. Orban said he valued Kyiv’s push to promote Mr. Zelenskiy’s vision of peace at an international summit in June in Switzerland and its aim to hold a second, follow-up summit later this year.

“I asked the president to think about whether we could reverse the order, and speed up peace talks with making a ceasefire first,” Mr. Orban said.

“A ceasefire connected to a deadline would give a chance to speed up peace talks. I explored this possibility with the president and I am grateful for his honest answers and negotiation.”

Mr. Zelenskiy, who spoke before Mr. Orban, did not respond to those comments.

The Ukrainian leader’s foreign policy adviser, Ihor Zhovkva, later said in televised remarks that it was not the first time a ceasefire had been proposed and that Mr. Zelenskiy had responded to Mr. Orban with his publicly known stance.

He did not elaborate, but officials in Kyiv have often said Russia would use any let-up in fighting to regroup and strengthen itself for another, even larger attack on Ukraine.

In his statement to reporters, Mr. Zelenskiy touted the possibility of a broad bilateral cooperation agreement between Ukraine and Hungary.

“…the content of our dialogue today on all issues can become the basis for a bilateral document between our states, a document that will regulate all our mutual relations,” he said.

Welcoming Mr. Zelenskiy’s comments, Mr. Orban said Hungary would like to help in modernising Ukraine’s economy.

Ties between the neighbours came under heavy strain after Russia launched its full-scale invasion of Ukraine on Feb. 24, 2022, with Budapest often opposing European Union efforts to support Kyiv.

Under Mr. Orban, who upset Western partners by holding talks with Putin last October, Hungary has repeatedly accused Ukraine of curbing the rights of roughly 150,000 ethnic Hungarians living in the far west of Ukraine.

Ukraine, meanwhile, is keen to secure Hungary’s backing as it relies heavily on financial and military support from the 27-member EU, where unanimity is needed for many decisions.

CHALLENGES

Mr. Orban linked Tuesday’s surprise Ukraine visit to Hungary having assumed the six-month rotating presidency of the European Council on Monday.

“The aim of the Hungarian presidency is to contribute to solving the challenges ahead of the European Union. That’s why my first trip was to Kyiv,” Mr. Orban wrote on Facebook after he arrived in Kyiv.

Last week, the EU opened formal membership talks with Kyiv at its summit in Brussels, giving Ukraine a morale-lifting boost, although a long and tough road still lies ahead before it can join the bloc.

Mr. Zelenskiy and Mr. Orban were filmed on the sidelines of that summit in what looked like an emotional exchange.

Last year, Mr. Orban told Mr. Putin that Hungary had never wanted to oppose Russia. In early 2024, it took the EU leaders weeks to break the Hungarian prime minister’s veto to extend 50 billion euros ($53.67 billion) in new aid to Ukraine.

Ukraine has denied Budapest’s assertion that it is restricting the rights of Hungarian speakers in western Ukraine but says it is open to addressing any concerns.

Kyiv passed a law in 2017 that required all schools to teach students over the age of 10 in the Ukrainian language. Hungary saw this as a breach of the ethnic Hungarian minority’s rights.

Some changes were made in December 2023 when the issue became critical for Kyiv’s EU accession talks. Budapest said the changes were an improvement but didn’t go far enough.

Hungary Prime Minister Viktor Orban toured key European capitals last week.
| Photo Credit: AP

Hungary takes over the European Union’s (EU) rotating presidency on July 1, promising to be an “honest broker” despite widespread concerns over what critics see as an authoritarian, Russia-friendly government.

Nationalist Prime Minister Viktor Orban, who has run the central European country since 2010 aiming to transform it into an “illiberal democracy”, frequently clashes with Brussels over rule-of-law and human rights issues.

He is also the only EU leader who has maintained ties with Russia despite its invasion of Ukraine. He has refused to send arms to Kyiv and repeatedly slammed sanctions against Moscow over the war.

Last year, the European Parliament adopted a non-binding resolution highlighting Hungary’s “backsliding” on democratic values, and questioning how it could “credibly” assume the bloc’s six-month presidency.

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“Ready to assume duties and responsibilities”

Budapest insists it is ready to assume “the duties and responsibilities” steering the bloc of 27 countries.

“We will be honest brokers, working loyally with all member states and institutions,” Hungarian EU Affairs Minister Janos Boka said in mid-June as he unveiled the presidency’s programme.

“At the same time, we believe Hungary has a strong mandate to pursue a strong European policy. Our work will reflect this vision of Europe,” he added.

Hungary’s programme slogan? “Make Europe Great Again” — echoing the rallying cry of Mr. Orban’s “good friend” former U.S. President Donald Trump — which already caused a stir in Brussels.

After Hungary last held the EU presidency in 2011, Mr. Orban boasted about handing out “flicks,” “smacks,” and “friendly slaps” to the “excitable tormentors” of the European Parliament.

This time, the nationalist leader (61) is even more combative, having vowed to “occupy Brussels” during the campaign for European elections in early June, banking on a right-wing breakthrough.

But even though far-right parties made gains, Mr. Orban’s Fidesz party currently stands isolated, unable to find a group in the European Parliament that suits it.

On Sunday, Mr. Orban announced he wanted to form his own group, together with Austria’s far-right Freedom Party (FPOe) and the centrist ANO party of ex-Czech premier Andrej Babis. They still need parties from at least four other countries to join them.

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Last week, Mr. Orban failed to derail a deal to return Ursula von der Leyen as head of the powerful European Commission and two others from a centrist alliance taking the other top jobs.

Meanwhile, Ms. von der Leyen put off a courtesy visit to Budapest, originally planned for the Presidency opening. A new date has not been set.

Seven priorities for EU presidency

To garner support for Hungary’s programme, Mr. Orban toured key European capitals last week. Among the country’s seven priorities for its EU presidency are stemming “illegal migration” and bringing the Western Balkans countries “one step closer” to EU membership.

Mr. Orban can use the presidency to set the agenda, but he cannot achieve results without the commission’s support, Daniel Hegedus, a senior fellow at the German Marshall Fund told AFP.

He also noted that the Hungarian premier has limited opportunity to act as a spoiler, as the outgoing Belgian presidency and EU institutions have rushed to conclude important decisions.

Last week, the European Union adopted a fresh sanction package against Russia and formally launched “historic” accession talks with Ukraine. “Everybody was striving to reduce instability, thus restricting the room for manoeuvre for the Hungarian presidency,” Mr. Hegedus said. “But more “trolling on the communication front” is to be expected,” he added.

Among Hungary’s battles with Brussels, Budapest is looking to unlock billions of euros in EU funds frozen over issues including LGBTQ rights, the treatment of asylum seekers and public procurement.