“China is a key force in creating peace in the war between Russia and Ukraine,” Orbán wrote on the social network X. “That’s why I came here to meet with President Xi in Beijing, just two months after his official visit. Budapest. “
United States envoy lashes out at China, says Beijing is a “confident government” in a rare move
Orbán is considered to have the warmest relations with Xi and Russian President Vladimir Putin among European leaders. His stopover in Moscow last week drew condemnation from Kiev and European officials, who insisted Orbán was not acting on behalf of the entire European bloc.
In this photo released through the Xinhua news agency, Hungarian Prime Minister Viktor Orban, left, shakes hands with Chinese President Xi Jinping before a meeting at the Diaoyutai state guest space in Beijing on July 8 2024. Xi called on world powers to help Russia and Ukraine. resume direct discussion at an assembly on Monday. (Li Xueren/Xinhua AP)
His criticism did not deter Orbán from extending a similar initiative to Beijing, which he called “Peace Mission 3. 0” in a photograph published in X.
In his meeting with Xi, Orbán described China as a stabilizing force amid the turmoil and praised its “constructive and important” peace initiatives.
China is selling its own six-point peace plan, which it presented with Brazil in May. Beijing claims to be impartial in the conflict, effectively supporting Moscow through common state visits, industry development and joint military exercises.
Welcoming Orbán, Xi called on Russia and Ukraine to ceasefire and other primary powers to create an environment conducive to talks. Only when all primary powers allocate “positive and not negative energy” can a ceasefire take place, Xi said, according to CCTV.
Orbán welcomed the Chinese leader to Hungary just two months ago as part of a three-country European tour that also included stops in France and Serbia, which, unlike the other two, is a member of the EU or NATO.
In this photo released through Xinhua News Agency, Hungarian Prime Minister Viktor Orban, from left, talks with Chinese President Xi Jinping at a bilateral meeting at the Diaoyutai State Guest House in Beijing, on July 2024. (Ding Lin/Xinhua via AP)
During the trip, China increased its ties with Hungary into a “strong comprehensive strategic partnership,” one of its highest foreign relations designations, which Hungary still applies only to Belarus, Pakistan and Venezuela.
Hungary Orbán has established really extensive political and economic ties with China. The European country is home to a number of Chinese EV battery facilities and announced in December that Chinese EV production giant BYD would open its first European EV production plant in the south of the country.
The Hungarian prime minister is widely opposed to Western military aid to Ukraine and has blocked, delayed or watered down EU efforts to reach out to Kyiv and impose sanctions on Moscow over its invasion. Orbán has long advocated a cessation of hostilities in Ukraine, but without specifying what this might mean for the country’s territorial integrity or long-term security.
This stance has frustrated Hungary’s EU and NATO allies, who denounced the Russian invasion as a violation of the law and a risk to Eastern European security.
Flanking Orbán last week in Moscow, Putin said Russia would accept any ceasefire or temporary cessation of hostilities that would allow Ukraine to “recover from its losses, regroup and regroup. “rearm”.
Putin reiterated his call for Ukraine to withdraw its troops from the 4 regions that Moscow says it has annexed in 2022 as a condition for any possible peace talks. Ukraine and its Western allies have rejected the call, suggesting it amounts to asking kyiv to withdraw from its own territory.
Hungarian Prime Minister Viktor Orban attends a joint convention with Russian President Vladimir Putin following their talks at the Kremlin in Moscow, Russia, July 5, 2024. (AP Photo/Alexander Zemlianichenko, File)
Meanwhile, China has expanded its influence in Central Asia and Eastern Europe in recent years beyond its “no limits” partnership with Moscow. Over the weekend, China conducted “anti-terrorist” military exercises with Belarus, Russia’s key best friend. – near the border with Poland. The drills came here after Belarus joined a regional security organization run through China and Russia last week.
Orbán will then travel to Washington, D. C. , where NATO leaders are holding a summit to discuss tactics to ensure Ukraine has continued support from the alliance.
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“Next step: Washington,” Orbán posted on his social media account on Monday. It was unclear whether he would meet with President Joe Biden or Donald Trump, whose presidential candidacy Orbán unabashedly supports.