Hungarian Prime Minister Viktor Orbán and Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy held telephone talks on Wednesday, according to the Hungarian Prime Minister’s press chief. The statement noted that all important aspects of Hungarian–Ukrainian relations were discussed during the call. The primary focus of the talks was the issue of war and peace. PM Orbán confirmed that Hungary is prepared to support all initiatives and efforts aimed at achieving peace. The Hungarian PM and the Ukrainian president agreed to continue their bilateral consultations.
Zelenskyy also shared a post on X about the phone call.
‘I had a lengthy and focused call with Hungary’s PM Viktor Orbán and invited him to the Peace Summit.
Hungary’s position is important to us
in terms of bringing peace closer and our shared regional security,’ Zelenskyy pointed out. According to his statement, he emphasized during the meeting that Kyiv is keen to promote good neighbourly relations and is urging enhanced cooperation in logistics, trade, and energy. ‘We coordinated next steps to resolve the full range of bilateral issues in a mutually beneficial manner. We also discussed Ukraine’s EU integration,’ he said.
According to RBC Ukraine, the Global Peace Summit is scheduled to take place on 15–16 June in Switzerland. The session will discuss the Ukrainian peace formula for a fair conclusion to the war with Russia, which was proposed by Zelenskyy in 2022. Over a hundred countries from around the world have been invited to the summit, though Russia has not received an invitation. Leaders from Germany, the Netherlands, Lithuania, Poland, Latvia, Spain, France, and Slovakia have already confirmed their attendance. ‘It is critical that we maintain dialogue with all leaders, and we practically share the same goal: to restore true stability to international affairs and to ensure justice for every nation, so that no nation is destroyed,’ Zelenskyy said in an X video regarding the summit.
At the beginning of the year, a potential meeting between Orbán and Zelenskyy was a persistent topic in both the Hungarian and Ukrainian press, yet it has not occurred. Hungarian Minister of Foreign Affairs and Trade Péter Szijjártó stated earlier that a Ukrainian-Hungarian summit only makes sense if it can yield significant results, and achieving this necessitates thorough preparation.
Viktor Orbán and Volodymyr Zelenskyy last met in an unusual location—Buenos Aires.
The two leaders travelled to the South American capital to attend the inauguration of Argentine President Javier Milei, where they exchanged a few words at the ceremony. Zelenskyy, in a video message after the meeting, described his conversation with Hungarian Prime Minister Viktor Orbán as ‘rather direct and to the point.’ Bertalan Havasi, the prime minister’s press chief mentioned that the two leaders briefly discussed Ukraine’s accession to the EU at the event.
Earlier, Ihor Zhovkva, deputy head of the Office of the President of Ukraine, discussed the potential meeting between Viktor Orbán and Volodymyr Zelenskyy. According to Zhovkva, the talks could encompass a broad range of areas, from economic relations to trade between the two countries and the rights of national minorities. ‘We will certainly prepare for this visit, and teams will be working on it. In diplomacy, nothing better than face-to-face negotiations has been invented,’ Zhovkva emphasized.
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