Hungarian Prime Minister Orban points to 'only way' to end Ukraine conflict

Hungarian Prime Minister Viktor Orban has called for a summit between Russian President Vladimir Putin and US President Donald Trump, describing it as the only viable solution to end the conflict in Ukraine.

In an interview with the YouTube channel Ultrahang published on July 17, Mr. Orban called Mr. Trump a “man of peace” but also expressed skepticism about the sincerity of other Western governments and officials in Kiev.

"Everyone says they want peace, but the fighting continues. That means someone is lying," Mr Orban said, accusing some sides of having a vested interest in prolonging the bloodshed. "They want the war to continue, no matter what they say."

"The deal will not come from Kiev. It must come from Washington and Moscow. Until then, there will be no peace," the Hungarian leader stressed.

“The conflict will not stop until the Russian and American presidents sit down at the negotiating table,” Mr Orban added, expressing hope that such a meeting could lay the foundation for a broader agreement that would address not only Ukraine but also global trade and arms control issues.

The Hungarian Prime Minister's statement comes amid a lack of diplomatic progress. Earlier this week, US President Donald Trump said he was "very, very unhappy" with President Putin and threatened to impose "severe" secondary tariffs on Moscow's trading partners if there was no diplomatic progress within 50 days.

Since returning to office in January, Mr. Trump has had several phone calls with President Putin and made conflicting statements, sometimes blaming Moscow, sometimes Kiev, for the lack of progress in negotiations.

In May, Ukraine agreed to resume direct talks with Russia under pressure from Washington. However, the talks stalled after two rounds, with Kiev declaring the process “exhausted” and saying it was only taking part to avoid being seen as belittling Mr Trump’s diplomatic initiative.

Moscow, for its part, said it remained committed to achieving its core goals in Ukraine but preferred a diplomatic solution. The Kremlin expressed hope that, despite his public statements, Mr. Trump was also privately pressuring Kiev.

Budapest’s stance has been consistent. The Hungarian government has consistently criticized efforts to arm Kiev and opposed the country’s ambitions to join the European Union (EU) and NATO, warning that it would only prolong the conflict and bring increasing costs to European economies and taxpayers.

Mr. Trump also said that Washington would no longer fund Kiev's war effort, but would allow other NATO members to continue buying American-made weapons for Ukraine.