Hungarian Prime Minister Viktor Orbán said that he is “convinced” that if Donald Trump is sent back to the White House, he will immediately bring about a diplomatic solution to the war in Ukraine, with or without the help of the European Union.
Speaking alongside former German Chancellor Gerhard Schröder from Vienna this week, Mr Orbán said that if elected next week, Trump’s team will “sit down with the Russian president in no time and negotiate,” adding, “We are preparing.”
Orbán, one of the former president’s chief allies in Europe, accused Brussels of operating under a delusion, arguing that the EU leadership has refused to accept or failed to understand that Ukraine cannot win the war, Die Welt reports.
“This war is lost,” Orbán said. “The situation is getting worse and worse. If Europe does not want to send its own soldiers, it must finally accept that. The fact that Europe is proud of not communicating with Russia is barbaric and diplomatically illiterate.”
The populist leader did admit, however, that initial negotiations will not be for a broader peace agreement between the West, Ukraine, and Russia but rather to get a ceasefire to stop the bloodshed.
Schröder, a longtime ally of Vladimir Putin, agreed with the sentiment and said it was wrong for Berlin and Paris to criticise the Hungarian leader for advocating for a ceasefire during trips to Beijing, Kyiv, Moscow, and the United States. Instead, EU leaders should support peace efforts from Budapest.
Schröder also supported Trump’s desire to bring peace to Europe, saying that while he never thought he would back the Republican candidate, “I would praise him again”.
The former German chancellor, who has faced criticism for his business ties in Russia, such as holding positions with Nord Stream AG, Rosneft, and Gazprom, again accused former UK Prime Minister Boris Johnson of scuppering an early peace deal between Ukraine and Russia at a 2022 meeting in Istanbul.
On the other hand, Orbán argued that the peace deal lacked necessary guarantees and that Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky had blocked peace talks, opting instead to continue the war.
Mr Trump has claimed that if elected, he would negotiate a ceasefire between Kyiv and Moscow before he is even inaugurated in January.
The former president has so far opted to keep his negotiating tactics close to his chest. However, following a meeting at his Mar-a-Lago residence earlier this year, Prime Minister Orbán suggested that cutting off American aid to Ukraine would likely be used to force Zelensky to the table.