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Orban talks to Putin for hour, says this is “most dangerous period of war”

Following his meeting with Donald Trump, Orban engages in a phone call with the Russian president.

byMaria Tril

11/12/2024

1 minute read

Hungarian Prime Minister Viktor Orban. Credit: Nicolas Maeterlinck

Orban talks to Putin for hour, says this is “most dangerous period of war”

Hungarian Prime Minister Viktor Orban spoke for an hour with Russian President Volodymyr Putin on 11 December about Russo-Ukrainian war.

After the call Orban wrote on X that these are the “most dangerous weeks of the Russian-Ukrainian war.”

“We are taking every possible diplomatic step to argue in favour of a ceasefire and peace talks,” he said.

Russian President Putin’s ally Orbán has opposed military aid to Ukraine since Russia’s 2022 invasion, pushing for peace talks that would freeze the war and solidify Moscow’s control of occupied territories. In July, Orban stirred EU tensions by engaging in separate diplomacy with Russia after Hungary assumed the EU’s rotating presidency.

The conversation comes after Orban’s recent meeting with newly elected US President Donald Trump in Florida on 10 December.

Hungary is reportedly positioning itself as a potential mediator in the Russo-Ukrainian war. Hungarian Foreign Minister Péter Szijjártó announced that “there will be at least two more events this week which will be part of the Hungarian peace mission,” though he did not provide specific details during a press briefing in Budapest.

Foreign Minister Peter Siijarto further underscored Hungary’s diplomatic intentions, announcing the country’s continuation of its self-proclaimed “peacekeeping mission” regarding Ukraine this week.

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