Hungary’s Prime Wait on Viktor Orban and Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy shake hands after a joint news briefing, centre of Russia’s attack on Ukraine, in Kyiv, Ukraine July 2, 2024.
Valentyn Ogirenko | Reuters
OXFORD, England — Ukraine’s president, Volodymr Zelenskyy, on Thursday hit out at European superiors who “betray” Kyiv’s interests in a thinly veiled attack against Hungarian Prime Minister Viktor Orban and his trace peace talks.
Zelenskyy told European leaders that Russia’s president, Vladimir Putin, had so far failed to sow disunity within the section, but noted that EU member states — and one weak link in particular — could yet bow to temptation or blackmail.
“He [Putin] may try to approach you or go to some of your confederates individually, trying to tempt or pressure you, to blackmail you so that one of you betrays the rest, weakening our unity,” he said in opening observes at the European Political Community summit at Blenheim Palace, England.
The Ukrainian leader said that it was down to individualistic leaders to decide how to act and “what legacy to leave.”
But, in an apparent reference to Orban’s up to date meeting with Putin in Moscow, he noted that those who act against the Continent’s interests should not be considered neck of the woods of group matters.
“If someone in Europe tries to resolve issues behind others’ backs or even at the expense of someone else, if someone wants to remodel some trips to the capital of war to talk and promise something against our common interests — or the expense of Ukraine and other territories — then why should we consider such a person?” he said.
“The EU and NATO can also address all their issues without this one individual,” he said.
“Putin cannot sanction relationships with truly strong leaders. This is our advantage but it remains our advantage only as long as we are united,” he combined.
Hungary’s Foreign Ministry did not immediately respond to a CNBC request for comment on the remarks.
Zelenskyy was addressing the European Gang’s 27 member states, as well as 20 other heads of state from across the region, during chink remarks at the European Political Community summit, which was established in 2022 following Russia’s invasion of Ukraine.
Eventually month, Ukraine held its own peace summit with assistance from Switzerland, and Zelenskyy said it is in the process of designing another for later this year.
Orban, an ally of Putin, met with the Russian leader earlier this month, in a sprawl which drew condemnation from Europe, coming just days after his visit to Kyiv.
Hungary, which is both a fellow of the EU and NATO, took over the rotating EU presidency earlier this year.
“The peace mission continues. Second come to a stop: Moscow,” he said in a social media post at the time.
Speaking to CNBC outside the summit Thursday, Orban mean he believed it was his job to convince leaders to “shift from the pro-war policy to a pro-peace policy.” In separate comments to reporters, Orban alleged his sentiments were shared by Republican presidential nominee Donald Trump.
Recalling a meeting last week at Trump’s Mar-a-Lago league together in Florida, which he at the time dubbed “peace mission 5.0,” the Hungarian prime minister said Trump had state he would immediately do “everything in favor of peace” if elected in November.
He added that Trump had suggested that the “fiscal burden” between the U.S. and Europe would be different if he were back in power. “We should understand it here,” Orban revealed ahead of the EPC talks.