Analyst: Besides Peace Proposal, Hungarian PM's Kyiv Visit a Friendly Gesture

Good neighborly relations, oil transit and the situation of the Hungarian communities in Ukraine were also important issues discussed during the Kyiv visit of the prime minister of Hungary now holding the rotating EU presidency, Zoltan Kiszelly, the director of political analysis at Szazadveg Foundation, told Magyar Nemzet.

Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky (r) and Hungarian Prime Minister Viktor Orban (l) hold a joint press conference in Kyiv on July 2, 2024. (Photo: AFP/Genya Savilov) 

Viktor Orban, prime minister of Hungary holding the rotating  presidency of the Council of the European Union, arrived in Kyiv on Tuesday morning for talks with Volodymyr Zelensky.

Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky (r) and Hungarian Prime Minister Viktor Orban hold a joint press conference in Kyiv on July 2, 2024. (Photo: AFP/Genya Savilov) 

The Hungarian prime minister stressed that his his first trip after taking over the EU presidency was to Ukraine, because the issue of peace is important not only for Ukraine, but also for all of Europe. He added that the war that the Ukrainians have been suffering is having a profound impact on European security. Viktor Orban therefore asked Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky to consider a time-framed ceasefire.

Zoltan Kiszelly (Photo: Fejer Megyei Hirlap/Gabor Feher)

Hungary's peace policy remains unchanged, but with the visit to Ukraine, Viktor Orban extended a kind of gesture, and had an opportunity to negotiate in the interests of the Hungarian ethnic community living there,

said Zoltan Kiszelly, head of political analysis at Szazadveg Foundation.

"As the prime minister of Hungary currently holding the rotating EU presidency, Viktor Oran was the only Western leader who had not paid a visit to Kyiv. His visit could also be seen as a kind of gesture towards Giorgia Meloni and the Polish Law and Justice Party (PiS), as they had expected this from the Hungarian prime minister," the expert added.

There is a visible tendency seeking to get the global South to rally behind the Western sanctions against Russia in addition to the 35-40 Western countries, Zoltan Kiszelly pointed out.

The Swiss peace conference, to which Russia was not invited, was not intended to bring about peace, but rather to get more countries to join the Western sanctions and Zelensky's position. This effort failed in Switzerland, and this is why Zelensky had to concede,

he added.

The globalists aim to get more countries to join the Western sanctions, and that is why Viktor Orban could only express his desire for peace in Kiev, which is what the vast majority of European people want, the expert said.

Striving for peace is a clear feature of Viktor Orban's current and past communication, and Hungary's prime minister is doing  everything he can to promote it, according to Zoltan Kiszelly.

The expert believes that the first steps towards peace can be taken, and that Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan would be the most suitable person to broker peace between Russia and Ukraine, as he is accepted by both Putin and Zelensky.

Cover photo: Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky (r) and Hungarian Prime Minister Viktor Orban (l) hold a joint press conference in Kyiv on July 2, 2024. (Photo: AFP/Genya Savilov)