Orban visits Zelensky in Ukraine

Orban has repeatedly blocked or weakened European efforts to provide Ukraine with security assistance throughout the war, frustrating Zelensky. He does not permit donated Western weapons to be transferred to Ukraine over the two countries’ shared border.

On Tuesday, Orban suggested Ukraine should agree to a cease-fire with Russia as part of an effort to begin negotiations to end the fighting. Kyiv has outlined a 10-point peace plan that it has asked countries to support, but it has rejected agreeing to a cessation of hostilities while Russian troops are still occupying Ukraine because it could just give Moscow an opportunity to rearm and renew its attacks aimed at seizing Ukrainian territory.

“I told [Zelensky] that his initiatives require a lot of time due to international diplomatic rules,” Orban said Tuesday. He added that he asked Zelensky “to consider whether it might be possible to do things a bit differently — to stop the fire and then negotiate with Russia, as a cease-fire would speed up the pace of these negotiations.”

In his remarks after their meeting, Zelensky did not address Orban’s suggestion of a cease-fire. He said that Hungary will open a first Ukrainian-language school for refugees living there. “The substance of our dialogue on all today’s issues can become the basis for a new bilateral document between our states,” Zelensky said.

Orban had been a roadblock for Ukraine to join the 27-member E.U. bloc. But the Hungarian leader left the room during a meeting with E.U. counterparts to abstain from a vote to open Ukraine accession talks. That allowed other leaders to vote unanimously in favor.

Budapest claims that Kyiv is failing to guarantee the rights of its Hungarian minority in Ukraine’s western Zakarpattia region. Orban’s government has presented a list of 11 conditions related to the minority’s legal protection before it agrees to Ukraine’s E.U. membership.

Though taking on the rotating presidency of the European Union has limited power, some E.U. lawmakers have expressed concern that Hungary’s pro-Russian track record makes it unfit for the role. Along with hindering aid to Ukraine, Orban has also opposed E.U. sanctions on Russia. He’s one of the only Western leaders to have met Russian President Vladimir Putin since the war began.

Zelensky wrote Monday on X that he wished Hungary “effectiveness in promoting our shared European values, goals and interests.”

“While advancing on its path to the E.U., Ukraine is ready to contribute to these efforts and strengthen our Europe,” Zelensky said.

Though Orban’s positions on Ukraine and Russia’s invasion had made him something of an outlier in the European Union, he might gain allies and influence, as the success of hard- and far-right parties in recent elections has shaken Europe’s establishment.

In France, a strong showing by Marine Le Pen’s far-right party led President Emmanuel Macron to dissolve Parliament and call snap elections, which backfired when the far-right finished first in the first round of voting on Sunday.

Macron has been especially vocal that about stepping up European support for Kyiv and had even said the West should not rule out putting troops on the ground in the Ukraine. Le Pen has been critical of Macron’s position.

Brady reported from Berlin. Serhiy Morgunov in Kyiv contributed to this report.