Orban visits Zelensky in Ukraine

Throughout the war, Orban has repeatedly blocked or weakened European efforts to provide Ukraine with security assistance, which has irked Zelensky. He does not allow the transfer of Western weapons donated to Ukraine across the two countries' shared border.

On Tuesday, Orban suggested that Ukraine accept a ceasefire with Russia as part of an effort to begin negotiations to end the fighting. Kiev has presented a 10-point peace plan that it has asked countries to support, but it has refused to agree to a cessation of hostilities while Russian troops remain in Ukraine, because it could give Moscow an opportunity to rearm and renew its attacks aimed at seizing Ukrainian territory.

“I said [Zelensky] “His initiatives require a lot of time because of international diplomatic rules,” Orban said on Tuesday, adding that he had asked Zelensky “to consider whether it would be possible to do things a little differently – to stop the fire and then negotiate with Russia, because a ceasefire would speed up the pace of these negotiations.”

In his speech after their meeting, Zelensky did not mention Orban's ceasefire proposal. He said that Hungary would open the first Ukrainian-language school for refugees living there. “The content of our dialogue on all current issues can become the basis for a new bilateral document between our states,” Zelensky said.

Orban had been an obstacle to Ukraine joining the European Union. But the Hungarian leader walked out of a meeting with his European counterparts to abstain from voting in favor of opening accession talks with Ukraine. That allowed other leaders to vote unanimously in favor of membership.

Budapest believes that kyiv is not guaranteeing the rights of its Hungarian minority living in the Transcarpathian region in western Ukraine. Orban's government has presented a list of 11 conditions for the legal protection of this minority before accepting Ukraine's accession to the EU.

Although the rotating presidency of the European Union gives him little power, some MEPs worry that Hungary’s pro-Russian past makes it unfit for the role. In addition to blocking aid to Ukraine, Orban has also opposed EU sanctions against Russia. He is one of the only Western leaders to have met with Russian President Vladimir Putin since the war began.

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

“While moving forward on the path to EU membership, Ukraine is ready to contribute to these efforts and strengthen our Europe,” Zelensky said.

Although Orban's positions on Ukraine and the Russian invasion have made him something of an outlier within the European Union, he may gain allies and influence as the success of far-right and extreme-right parties in recent elections has shaken the European establishment.

In France, the strong performance of Marine Le Pen's far-right party led President Emmanuel Macron to dissolve parliament and call early elections, which backfired when the far right came out on top in the first round of voting on Sunday.

Macron particularly stressed the need for increased European support for kyiv and even said that the West should not rule out sending troops to Ukraine. Marine Le Pen criticized Macron's position.

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