July 4—Hungarian Prime Minister Viktor Orbán, one day after Hungary assumed the European Council presidency, made a surprise visit to Kiev today to meet with Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy. Afterwards he stated that he had proposed to Zelenskyy that an immediate ceasefire tied to a deadline would kick real negotiations forward.
Sources report that Orban diplomacy is very much coordinated with Russian President Vladinir Putin's current "all hands on deck" push for a negotiated end to the NATO provoked and directed conflict in the Ukraine and to create new Eurasian peace and security architecture that would bring peace, stability and economic development to the region. These sources noted that Putin had in his June 14 speech offered a cease-fire and to start negotiations with Kiyv without and preconditions. The gut of his offer involves recognizing that parts of the Ukraine such as the Crimea and the eastern areas known as the Donbass, have already become part of the Russian Federation, although in the latter case, their actual borders might be the subject of negotiation.
While Zelenskyy has rejected such ideas and demands something that will never happen—to return all lands to the Ukraine--the days where his opinion might mean anything appear to be numbered. It is well known that sections of the Armed Forces of the Ukraine, which as a whole has suffered more than 600,000 dead, know that the war is lost and that continued fighting will only kill more Ukrainians, are quietly moving with their Russian counterparts to negotiate the terms of peace. Sources, with knowledge of this, say that Zelenskyy, who is governing under an illegal marshal law decree since his Presidential term expired May 20, will either accept negotiations with Russia, or "he will be kicked to the curb." This will take place regardless of his role as a NATO/U.S. Puppet, as oner source stated, "They can't protect his ass. Nor can the Nazi militias who he let run free and wild, as they might seek to go into hiding or even get out of Ukraine. And who can count on support from a U.S. President, "Sleepy Joe" Biden, who is himself being driven out of office.
So, while no one would have thought he would accept a visit from Orban, let alone hold a friendly press conference in Kyiv, where Orban pushed for the ceasefire and negotiations, he obviously felt he had to do it, in order not only to stay in office—and perhaps, even stay alive,
Since the beginning of Russia’s special military operation on Feb 24, 2022, Prime Minister Orbán has steadfastly refused to permit Hungary to fund or send military weapons to Ukraine, despite significant EU and NATO pressure on him to do so. On May 3, on a morning talk show on Kossuth Radio, Orbán warned: “Europe is playing with fire. I am not saying that European leaders are marching toward a war, but, every day, they are taking more steps in that direction.” This, despite “the majority of people favoring peace.” He continued, “We did not want to take part in either World War I or World War II. And we will not allow the Hungarians to be drawn into a third world war…. We are balancing on the brink of war and peace.”
On July 1, on the day that Orbán and Hungary assumed the six-month presidency of the European Council, he said, in an interview that was broadcast on Hirado.hu, Hungarian public television, that the greatest opportunity in Hungary’s EU Council presidency will be a chance “to take Europe closer to peace,” and that this would the focus of Hungary’s work. Europe must be prepared, he said, for a situation where “sooner or later the Americans and the Russians hold talks.”
At the July 2 joint press conference, Orbán declared that “peace is important not only for Ukraine, but for the whole of Europe,” the July 2 Budapest Times reports. “The ways of international diplomacy are slow and complicated…. I put to the President [of Ukraine] that we should consider whether the order may be reversed by speeding up peace talks with a quick ceasefire. A ceasefire tied to the deadline, which could offer the opportunity to accelerate peace talks; I have assessed the options for that scenario.”
On July 2, Ireland’s RTE public service wrote that Orbán said he had asked Zelenskyy “to think about whether it would be possible to take a break … to reach a ceasefire and start negotiations, since a quick ceasefire could speed up these negotiations.” Without describing Zelenskyy’s response, Orbán said that he was “very grateful to Zelenskyy for his honest answer in this regard.” However, according to the Budapest Times today, he also said that he would prepare a report for the European Council “that could be a baseline for the necessary European decisions.”
Today’s European Pravda indicated that Orbán’s proposal took Zelenskyy’s recurrent discussion of the “Ukraine Peace Plan” in a different direction. It reported that Orbán explained that he was not opposed to Ukrainian measures to stop the war, but that they were taking too long. “I informed Mr. President that his plans require a significant amount of time due to international diplomatic rules. So I advised Mr. President to consider doing something a bit differently: halt the fire, and then engage with Russia, because a ceasefire would speed the pace of these negotiations.”
Just last month, Orbán had turned down attending the Switzerland meeting on the “Ukraine Peace Plan” due to its exclusion of Russia. European Pravda reported that Zelenskyy, at the press conference, looked the other way. Instead, he said, “Hungary took part in the first Peace Summit and supported the communiqué of the summit, and this indicates Hungary’s readiness to be effective for the return of real long-term security.”
European Pravda went on to note, that Zelenskyy made no mention of Orbán’s “quick ceasefire” proposal. Regardless, it is of note that he agreed to Orbán’s visit and was civil, while being perfectly aware that there are those in Kiev who view Orbán as an enemy. (Orbán has been on the hit list of the infamous Myrotvorets gang and the blacklist of Kiev’s Center for Countering Disinformation.)
