Hungarian Minister of Foreign Affairs and Trade Péter Szijjártó delivered sharp and direct criticism of European Union leaders on Wednesday, targeting European Commission president Ursula von der Leyen in particular. He argued that her sudden shift on a ceasefire in Ukraine exposes her complete lack of credibility and proves that the EU has followed a flawed strategy on the war for the past three years.
On Tuesday evening, after a long day of negotiations between American and Ukrainian delegations, Kyiv announced in a joint statement with the US State Department that it was ready to accept a 30-day ceasefire, effective immediately. As part of the agreement, the US government will also resume sharing intelligence with Ukraine—a practice it had suspended on 5 March. Now, the decision rests with Russia, as US President Donald Trump's special envoy Steve Witkoff has reportedly landed in Moscow to pressure President Vladimir Putin into agreeing to the ceasefire.
Following the announcement, pro-war EU leaders rushed to X to welcome the potential ceasefire, boldly claiming that they had always worked for peace. As we noted in our first impression commentary, this is not only a blatant lie but also an insult to those who have genuinely advocated for a ceasefire and an end to the conflict.
On Wednesday Szijjártó called this U-turn ‘politically ridiculous’ despite the serious nature of the issue. ‘If this position had been taken three years ago, hundreds of thousands of lives could have been saved, millions fewer would have been forced to flee, and tens of billions of euros would not have been wasted,’ he emphasized.
He went on to highlight that Hungary has been the only EU member state consistently advocating for a ceasefire and peace since the war broke out, never wavering from its stance. He recalled how EU leaders condemned Hungarian prime minister Viktor Orbán’s peace missions, labelling them ‘appeasement’ towards Russia and even threatening retaliatory measures against Hungary.
‘If this position had been taken three years ago, hundreds of thousands of lives could have been saved’
Szijjártó also stressed that Brussels’ sudden shift raises serious questions about accountability.
‘The vast majority of European politicians, I believe, now see, know, or at least sense that the political strategy of the past three years has been a total failure, and they are now buying time. They are trying to delay the moment when they must admit the damage that three years of misguided policies have inflicted on the people of Europe.’
The Hungarian foreign minister concluded by stating that acknowledging failure inevitably leads to the question of who is responsible for this failed strategy.
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