Orban: Peace cannot be created from the comfort of your armchair

Ukraine war - Orban: Peace cannot be created from the comfort of your armchair

Hungary's Prime Minister Viktor Orban is positioning himself increasingly as a peacemaker in the Ukraine war. "Peace cannot be created from a comfortable chair in Brussels," Orban wrote on the online platform X. "Although the rotating EU Council Presidency has no mandate to negotiate on behalf of the EU, we cannot retreat and wait for the war to end miraculously. We will be an important instrument in making the first steps towards peace."

Orban posted these words in reference to an interview excerpt where he expresses his views on his first visit to Kiev since the war began on Tuesday and his declared intention to work for peace. Regarding a possible Moscow visit, which is being speculated about, Orban only 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 known as a Russia friend and has often delayed or tried to prevent negotiations on Ukraine aid or sanctions against Moscow. During his visit to Kiev, he urged Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky to consider a ceasefire. Currently, there are no negotiations between Kiev and Moscow.

Hungary has held the regular rotating EU Council Presidency since Monday. Several media reported that Orban might be traveling to Moscow.

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

1. Despite his reputation as a Russia ally, Hungary's Prime Minister Viktor Orban urged Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky during his recent visit to Kiev to consider a ceasefire in the ongoing Ukraine war.
2. Orban's visit to Kiev marked the last high-profile EU visit to Moscow after the war began, as he attended the funeral of former Soviet President Mikhail Gorbachev in September 2022.
3. As the current EU Council Presidency, Hungary cannot negotiate on behalf of the EU in the Ukraine war, but Prime Minister Orban has expressed a commitment to being an important instrument in promoting the first steps towards peace.
4. Viktor Orban has positioned himself as a peacemaker in the Ukraine war, criticizing the EU for trying to create peace from a "comfortable chair in Brussels" and advocating for proactive engagement to find a solution.
5. Although Hungary has held the EU Council Presidency since Monday and speculations about Orban's potential trip to Moscow are circulating, there are currently no official negotiations between Ukraine and Russia to end the conflict.

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