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Hungary PM Orban says in Beijing on 'Peace mission 3.0'
Hungary PM Orban says in Beijing on 'Peace mission 3.0'
by AFP Staff Writers
Beijing (AFP) July 8, 2024

Hungarian Prime Minister Viktor Orban said Monday he had arrived in Beijing on "Peace mission 3.0" after recent visits to Moscow and Kyiv.

Orban was greeted at the airport by Chinese foreign ministry spokeswoman Hua Chunying, according to a photo the nationalist leader posted on social media platform X.

His arrival in Beijing follows surprise visits to Russia and Ukraine in the past week since Hungary took over the European Union's rotating presidency at the start of July.

The trip comes a day before NATO is due to hold a summit to mark its 75th anniversary, with setbacks in Ukraine set to dominate discussions.

Orban, the friendliest EU leader towards Moscow, held talks with President Vladimir Putin on Friday about the war in Ukraine during a trip criticised by both Kyiv and the EU, which said it threatened to undermine the bloc's stance on the conflict.

Putin told Orban that Ukraine must withdraw its troops from regions that Moscow has annexed if it wants peace.

In a short statement, the Chinese foreign ministry said the Hungarian leader would meet President Xi Jinping on Monday "for in-depth communication on issues of mutual interest".

Close to both Xi and the Kremlin, Orban has refused to send weapons to Kyiv, unlike his fellow EU leaders.

China and Russia's strategic partnership has grown closer since the invasion of Ukraine.

Beijing presents itself as a neutral party in the war and says it is not sending lethal assistance to either side, unlike the United States and other Western nations.

It has however offered a critical lifeline to Russia's isolated economy, with trade booming since the conflict began.

Orban informed NATO of Moscow trip, not representing alliance
Brussels, Belgium (AFP) July 5, 2024 - Hungary's Prime Minister Viktor Orban informed NATO ahead of his visit to Moscow for talks with Russian President Vladimir Putin, alliance head Jens Stoltenberg said on Friday.

"Of course, Viktor Orban is not representing NATO at these meetings. He's representing his own country," Stoltenberg said.

"Hungary agrees that Russia is responsible for the war. Russia is the perpetrator, and Russia can end this war today by stopping attacking Ukraine," he added.

Orban unsettled EU and NATO allies by flying to Moscow on Friday to sit down for talks with Putin, with whom he has long fostered friendly relations.

Putin said he viewed Orban as a representative for Europe -- despite EU leaders emphasising that Orban was acting on his own initiative in an exclusively bilateral role with no mandate to speak for the bloc.

Stoltenberg said he expected Orban would have "opportunities to discuss" what came up in his conversation with Putin in a NATO summit taking place in Washington next week.

While NATO is not directly involved in helping Ukraine defend itself from Russia's full-on invasion, most of its member countries are supplying military, financial and political support to Kyiv.

Hungary has not given military aid but has ended up going along with its allies' initiatives, even if reluctantly and at times after weeks of obstruction.

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