Hungary offers to host Ukraine peace talks, PM outlines security vision
Hungarian Prime Minister Péter Magyar (photo: Getty Images)
Hungarian Prime Minister Péter Magyar said that Budapest is ready to serve as a venue for negotiations aimed at ending the war in Ukraine. At the same time, he outlined his vision of who and how could guarantee Kyiv's security in the future, in an interview with the German newspaper Frankfurter Allgemeine Zeitung.
In the interview with FAZ, Magyar was asked whether a sufficient amount of weapons for self-defense should be considered a necessary part of future security guarantees for Ukraine. The Hungarian prime minister disagreed with that approach.
Security guarantees are not weapons, but the international community
According to Magyar, real guarantees can only be provided by the collective political will of leading states, not by the volume of military assistance.
"I do not believe that weapons are a security guarantee. Security guarantees can only be provided by the international community. Hungary cannot play a decisive role here. This is a matter for the major powers," he said.
What Hungary is prepared to do
Magyar outlined three areas in which Budapest is ready to contribute to a settlement.
"We can provide diplomatic and humanitarian assistance, and Hungary could also serve as a venue for negotiations," he said.
The interview was published after Magyar visited Berlin, where he met with German Chancellor Friedrich Merz.
At a joint press conference, the Hungarian prime minister confirmed that even under the new government, Hungary would not send either weapons or soldiers to Ukraine.
In April 2026, Magyar's Tisza party won the parliamentary elections in Hungary, bringing an end to Viktor Orbán's 16-year rule.
The new prime minister immediately stated that Ukraine is the victim of an unprovoked Russian attack and has the right to defend its territorial integrity.
Earlier, under Orbán's government, Hungary had already expressed its readiness to host negotiations between Ukraine and Russia. The proposal was voiced by then-Foreign Minister Péter Szijjártó.
