Orban’s ‘peacemaking’ mission: Did Hungary’s leader achieve anything?
Al Jazeera
Hungary’s leader widens rift between Budapest and Brussels by visiting Putin and Xi amid Ukraine war.
When Hungarian premier Viktor Orban broke ranks with the rest of the European Union to visit Russian President Vladimir Putin in Moscow on July 5, he cast himself as a peacemaker.
“The number of countries that can talk to both warring sides is diminishing,” Orban said, referring to Russia’s war in Ukraine, which he visited on July 2.
“Hungary is slowly becoming the only country in Europe that can speak to everyone,” he added, referring to Russia’s diplomatic and economic isolation from Europe since it launched a full invasion of Ukraine in February 2022.
As he assumed the six-month rotating presidency of the European Council of leaders, Orban sought the prestige of a mediator, analysts told Al Jazeera.
“The prospects of peace are so tempting, everyone wants to claim victory and say ‘I brought peace to Europe’,” said Victoria Vdovychenko, programme director for security studies at Ukraine’s Centre for Defence Strategies, a think tank.
