Russia Orban: You can't create peace from the comfort of your armchair

Hungary's Prime Minister Viktor Orban is increasingly presenting himself as a peacemaker in the Ukraine war. "You can't create peace from a comfortable armchair in Brussels," Orban wrote on the online platform X.

"Even if the rotating EU presidency has no mandate to negotiate on behalf of the EU, we cannot sit back and wait for the war to miraculously end. We will be an important instrument to take the first steps towards #peace," he added.

Orban posted the words to an interview excerpt in which he comments on his first visit to Kiev since the start of the war on Tuesday and his declared desire to work for peace.

Orban does not mention a possible visit to Moscow, which is the subject of speculation, but simply says: "I travel to places where there is a threat of war or where there is a war that has negative consequences for Europe and Hungary."

Orban is considered a friend of Russia and has often delayed or tried to prevent negotiations on aid for Ukraine or sanctions against Moscow. During his visit to Kiev, he called on Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky to consider a ceasefire. There are currently no negotiations between Kiev and Moscow.

Hungary has held the rotating presidency of the EU Council since Monday. Several media outlets had reported that Orban might be traveling to Moscow.

Orban was the last high-ranking representative of an EU country to visit Moscow even after the start of the war. He attended the funeral of former Soviet President Mikhail Gorbachev in September 2022. The Russian leadership had sent former President Dmitry Medvedev to the event.

SDA