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Reuters

Hungarian Prime Minister Viktor Orban met with Donald Trump on Thursday and the pair discussed the “possibilities of peace”, a spokesperson for the prime minister said as he pushes for a ceasefire in Ukraine.
Trump and Orban met at Trump’s Mar-a-Lago home in Florida “as the next stop of his peace mission,” Orban’s spokesperson said. “The discussion was about the possibilities of peace”.
Orban shared a photo of the two on social media with the caption: “We discussed ways to make peace. The good news of the day: he’s going to solve it!”
The post did not elaborate further.

Peace mission 5.0
It was an honour to visit President @realDonaldTrump at Mar-a-Lago today. We discussed ways to make #peace. The good news of the day: he’s going to solve it! pic.twitter.com/AiTRsdexM5
— Orbán Viktor (@PM_ViktorOrban) July 12, 2024

Trump responded to Orban’s post, writing on his Truth Social site: “Thank you Viktor. There must be PEACE, and quickly. Too many people have died in a war that should never have started!”
Nationalist leader Orban, a long-time Trump supporter, made surprise visits to Kyiv, Moscow and Beijing in the past two weeks on a self-styled “peace mission”, angering Nato allies.
In China, Orban met with President Xi Jinping, where he described China as a stabilising force amid global turbulence and praised its “constructive and important” peace initiatives.
His meeting in Moscow with Russian President Vladimir Putin in particular vexed some other Nato members, who said the trip handed legitimacy to Putin when the West wants to isolate him over his war in Ukraine.
Orban travelled to Kyiv before visiting Moscow but did not tell Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky about his mission to Russia, Zelensky said, dismissing Orban’s ambition of playing the peacemaker.
“Not all the leaders can make negotiations. You need to have some power for this,” Zelensky said earlier at a news conference at the Nato summit.
White House National Security Adviser Jake Sullivan, when asked about Orban’s initiative, said Ukraine would be rightly concerned about any attempt to negotiate a peace deal without involving Kyiv.
“Whatever adventurism is being undertaken without Ukraine’s consent or support is not something that’s consistent with our policy, the foreign policy of the United States,” Sullivan said.


Orban’s self-styled peace mission has also irked many members of the European Union, whose rotating presidency Hungary took over at the start of this month.
The Hungarian embassy in Washington declined to comment on the planned meeting with Trump, which was first reported by Bloomberg.
Orban has been attending a Nato summit hosted by Democratic President Joe Biden. Hungary’s delegation voiced opposition to key Nato positions, while not blocking the alliance from taking action.
Foreign Minister Peter Szijjarto told Reuters on Wednesday that Hungary believes a second Trump presidency would boost hopes for peace in Ukraine.
Orban hoped to bring an end to the war through peace talks involving both Russia and Ukraine, according to Szijjarto.
Trump has said he would quickly end the war. He has not offered a detailed plan to achieve that, but Reuters reported last month that advisers to the former president had presented him with a plan to end the war in part by making future aid to Kyiv conditional on Ukraine joining peace talks.

In the past several months, foreign officials have regularly sought meetings with Trump and his key advisers to discuss his foreign policy should he beat Biden in the November 5 election. Polls show Trump widening his lead over Biden.
One adviser, Keith Kellogg, has met with several high-ranking foreign officials on the sidelines of the Nato summit, Reuters reported this week.
Orban appeared isolated at the opening of a Nato meeting on Ukraine on Thursday, sitting alone while other leaders talked in a huddle.
Two European diplomats told Reuters that Nato allies were frustrated with Orban’s actions around the summit, but stressed that he had not blocked the alliance from taking action on Ukraine.
Multiple EU leaders made clear Orban was not speaking for the bloc in his discussions on the war in Ukraine.
“I don’t think there’s any point in having conversations with authoritarian regimes that are violating international law,” said Finnish President Alexander Stubb.
Hungary also diverged from its Nato allies on China, which the alliance said is an enabler of Russia’s war effort and poses challenges to security. Hungary does not want Nato to become an “anti-China” bloc, and will not support it doing so, Szijjarto said on Thursday.
Additional reporting by Agence France-Presse


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Nato

Hungary’s Orban meets with Trump for ‘peace mission’ talks after Ukraine, Russia and China visits

Hungarian Prime Minister Viktor Orban and Donald Trump at Trump’s Mar-a-Lago home in Florida. Photo: Viktor Orban via X

Hungary’s Prime Minister Viktor Orban with US President Joe Biden on Wednesday. Photo: Reuters

Biden warns China’s Xi of ‘price’ over aid to Russia as Nato summit ends

NATO Secretary General Jens Stoltenberg delivers remarks at a press conference in Washington on Thursday. Photo: AP

European Council President Charles Michel on Thursday. Photo: AP

Finnish President Alexander Stubb. Photo: EPA-EFE

Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky. Photo: Getty Images via AFP

Ukraine war: Hungary’s Orban urges Zelenksy to call ceasefire to speed up Russian peace talks

Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky (right) shakes hands with Hungarian Prime Minister Viktor Orban  during their meeting in Kyiv, Ukraine on Tuesday. Photo: EPA-EFE

Hungary’s Prime Minister Viktor Orban has been accused of maintaining warm relations with Russian President Vladimir Putin. Photo: Reuters

Hungary’s Prime Minister Viktor Orban and Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky arrive for a joint news briefing in Kyiv, Ukraine on Tuesday. Photo: Reuters

Russia and China peace missions prompt EU members to seek ways to punish Hungary

Hungarian Prime Minister Viktor Orban speaks to the media in Kyiv, Ukraine, on Tuesday. Photo: Reuters

Orban (left), walking with Russian President Vladimir Putin at the Kremlin in Moscow on Friday, has made Hungary the most pro-Russian voice among EU members since the Ukraine war began in 2022. Photo: EPA-EFE

European Union foreign policy chief Josep Borrell said Orban had “not received any mandate from the EU Council to visit Moscow”. Photo: AFP

Ukrainian rescuers, medical staff and volunteers clean up the rubble and search for victims after a Russian missile hit the country’s main children’s hospital in Kyiv on Monday. Photo: AP

Xi calls for Ukraine ceasefire as Hungary’s Orban makes surprise stop in China

Chinese President Xi Jinping meets Hungarian Prime Minister Viktor Orban at the Diaoyutai State Guesthouse in Beijing on Monday. Photo: China Daily via Reuters

Hungarian leader Viktor Orban is greeted by Hua Chunying, Chinese foreign vice-minister, after arriving in Beijing. Photo: X/@PM_ViktorOrban

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Meeting at Mar-a-Lago came days after the Hungarian leader met separately with Xi Jinping, Vladimir Putin and Volodymyr Zelensky


Meeting at Mar-a-Lago came days after the Hungarian leader met separately with Xi Jinping, Vladimir Putin and Volodymyr Zelensky.
