Orbán opposes Ukraine's membership at NATO summit in Zelenskyy's presence
Hungarian Prime Minister Viktor Orbán (photo: Getty Images)
During the NATO summit, Hungary refused to contribute to military support and generally opposed Ukraine's membership in the Alliance, reports Bloomberg.
During the NATO summit in Washington this week, Hungary refused to join the military support of Ukraine.
Furthermore, during a plenary session with Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy, Hungarian Prime Minister Viktor Orbán said that Ukraine should not join NATO.
Some leaders pushed back, with one saying that Hungary's history shows why Ukraine should be in the Alliance.
Overall, however, the reaction to this position was swift but mostly rhetorical. Belgian Prime Minister Alexander de Kroo, whose country held the rotating EU presidency until last month, said that this undermined the credibility of Hungary's six-month presidency.
In addition, German Foreign Minister Annalena Burbock called the Hungarian leader's self-styled peacekeeping mission to Ukraine "Orban's selfish trip." And Swedish Prime Minister Ulf Kristersson said that it all looks like a hijacking of the EU presidency.
We also reported that Italian Prime Minister Giorgia Meloni said that Hungarian Prime Minister Viktor Orbán did not have an EU mandate to travel to Russia and China with a "peace initiative" that was not successful.
Orban's "peaceful trips"
On July 2, Hungarian Prime Minister Viktor Orbán visited Kyiv and met with President Zelenskyy, to whom he proposed a ceasefire before starting peace talks with Russia. On July 5, Orbán arrived in Moscow, where he held talks with Russian dictator Vladimir Putin.
Afterward, the Hungarian prime minister visited China.
Ambassadors of the EU member states sharply criticized Hungarian Prime Minister Viktor Orbán for traveling to Russia and China on a "peace mission."
