NEW YORK — Despite harsh criticism for his earlier mediation efforts, Hungary's Prime Minister Viktor Orbán seems undeterred — and is again busy rounding up world countries to push for his peacemaking plan for Ukraine.
On the sidelines of last week's UN General Assembly, the Hungarian leader quietly worked the room, asking China and Brazil to join him in organizing a peace summit that would bring Moscow and Kyiv to the negotiating table.
The get-together could also see leaders of France and Switzerland among those present, Swiss outlet Weltwoche, who spoke to Orbán in New York, reported.
"The dying must stop," Orbán said, explaining his intensive negotiations with Beijing and Brasília came in a renewed push for what he sees as peace with Russia after his attempts to convince Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy he was running out of time failed.
However, things did not go down well with many last time the Hungarian PM set out to do something similar.
Right after the central European country took over the EU presidency in June, Orbán went on a world peace tour to Kyiv, Moscow and Beijing, irking his European counterparts with his self-appointed role as a roving European ambassador-slash-negotiator.
While one part of the ire came from Brussels insisting Orbán's “Peace Mission 3.0” could only be done in Budapest's name, EU leaders were unhappy with the prospect of being in the same room with Russia's Vladimir Putin to discuss Ukraine on his terms, as the bloc vehemently opposes the unprovoked all-out invasion Moscow launched in early 2022.
Kyiv has rejected any possibility of debating peace with the Kremlin that doesn't include the complete withdrawal of Russian troops from all Ukrainian territories, including the unilaterally annexed Crimea Moscow took for itself during the first invasion of 2014.
But if Brussels won't back him, others might — although this could require further careful massaging.
Brazil might need to be convinced Orbán means well after Hungary provoked President Lula da Silva by offering Jair Bolsonaro refuge at its embassy in Brasília following his failed reelection bid and a resulting storming of the country's institutions by Bolsonaro's supporters back in March.
But most importantly, Kyiv — which views Orbán's constant overtures to Moscow and pushback against support for Ukraine as hostile — is on a peace-through-victory push of its own and might not have any interest in hearing out Putin's demands any time soon.
Zelensky told the UN General Assembly last Wednesday there's no alternative to the peace formula he presented two years ago as he continued to talk up his blueprint for victory that would force Moscow to end the war on Ukraine's terms.
“Any parallel or alternative attempts to seek peace are, in fact, efforts to achieve a lull instead of an end to the war,” Zelenskyy said, urging nations to “put pressure on” Russia.
“Do not divide the world. Be united nations,” he implored. “And that will bring us peace.” — Euronews
