The leaders of Hungary and Russia discussed trade, Ukraine, and Syria for about an hour
Russian President Vladimir Putin and Hungarian Prime Minister Viktor Orban discussed key issues, including the Ukraine conflict, during a phone call on Wednesday. Earlier in the week Orban met with US President-elect Donald Trump and members of his inner circle.
Trade and in particular energy cooperation were the focus of the first part of the call, the Kremlin said. Then the two leaders discussed the Ukraine conflict, with Orban “expressing interest in helping to find political-diplomatic ways for resolving” it.
Orban is one of a handful of Western leaders to oppose the general consensus on how to handle the Ukraine crisis. He has rejected calls to support Kiev militarily for “as long as it takes” to defeat Russia. He has also offered diplomatic mediation between the principal parties to the conflict and leading international players.
”These are the most dangerous weeks” in the entire conflict, and Budapest is “taking every possible diplomatic step to argue in favor of a ceasefire and peace talks,” Orban said in a post on X. The conversation with Putin lasted for about an hour, he added.
The Russian leader “detailed his principled assessment of the current development of the situation regarding Ukraine and the destructive line of the Kiev regime, which continues to exclude any opportunity for peaceful resolution,” the Kremlin statement said.
The two leaders also discussed the volatile situation in the Middle East and the dramatic events in Syria, where a lightning militant offensive toppled the government in Damascus last week. Russia has given refuge to former Syrian President Bashar Assad and his family, citing humanitarian reasons.
Kremlin spokesman Dmitry Peskov was asked later in the day whether Orban delivered to Putin any messages from US President-elect Donald Trump, whom he met earlier in the week. The Russian official said no such messages were conveyed.
Orban visited Trump’s Florida residence on Monday, with billionaire Elon Musk and incoming US National Security Advisor, Congressman Michael Waltz, taking part in the discussions.
The Hungarian prime minister is strongly opposed to Western attempts to isolate nations economically or diplomatically that they consider rivals, including Russia and China. Such a policy leads to the escalation of tensions and to disastrous consequences, according to Orban.
On Tuesday, he highlighted the rapid change in the international order in a speech to university students in Budapest. Orban said the age of liberal ideology was over and that Hungary would serve as a link between the powerhouses of the East and the West in a new world.
