Did President Zelenskiy bow to PM Orbán when they met in Brussels?

The Hungarian prime minister shared a controversial photo on his Facebook account shortly after his meeting with President Zelenskiy. The two shook hands during the Ukrainian leader’s visit after an extraordinary summit of the European Union held in Brussels. We do not know details about what the two leaders discussed. But, according to the photos, PM Orbán smiled when Zelenskiy was talking.

Zelenskiy and Orbán were never friends

PM Viktor Orbán shared a controversial photo of his handshake with Ukrainian president Volodymyr Zelenskiy. He took part in a discussion with him, together with the Greek, Croatian and Slovenian prime ministers, the Austrian chancellor and the heads of state of Bulgaria and Cyprus.

They probably did not talk in private, or at least there is no photo or text evidence. But they shook hands, and the photos shared of it provoked angry comments on Viktor Orbán’s official Facebook page. That is because it seems the Ukrainian leader bowed to Viktor Orbán when they met. Moreover, the photo shows supremacy on the part of PM Orbán and submission on the part of the Ukrainian leader.

The two have a long history of debates. The war in Ukraine became a crucial issue during the 2022 parliamentary elections in Hungary. The Orbán administration argued that Hungary would never send weapons to Ukraine and would not even allow such deliveries on Hungarian soil. Meanwhile, Orbán accused the joint opposition that they would send Hungarian soldiers to die against Russian aggression. After Orbán won a fourth consecutive landslide victory, the communication has not changed. Hungary’s government provides humanitarian help for the Ukrainian refugees but refuses to send weapons, is against the anti-Russia sanctions (in rhetoric, but votes for each of them in the EU) and accuses the Western allies’ deliveries that it would only prolong the war.

• Read also: Ukraine furious over PM Orbán’s “disparaging” comments – here is what they did

Ukrainian President bowed to Orbán?

Two weeks earlier, Orbán even compared Ukraine to Afghanistan, saying it was a no man’s land and arguing that the Russians would win finally. Therefore, an immediate ceasefire and peace are much more important than supplying the Ukrainian armies with means to resist since they would be defeated. The Ukrainian foreign minister summoned the Hungarian ambassador in Kyiv after that, a clear sign of diplomatic tension.

Having written all that, it is interesting that Zelenskiy agreed to meet with Orbán, though not in private. Furthermore, he invited Orbán to Kyiv for an official visit, telex.hu wrote. Last November, President Katalin Novák travelled there. Experts say, however, that the prime minister’s photo could only fuel the fire though an official reaction has not come from Ukraine on that yet.

Here is the post. The text says Hungary is on the side of peace:

Currently, there are more than 5 thousand comments. Most of them are supportive towards Orbán. People keep writing that Zelenskiy’s body language tells a lot accepting the photo’s suggestion that the Ukrainian president bowed to the Hungarian prime minister. The most interesting reaction is former PM Ferenc Gyurcsány’s, portrayed as the main antagonist of the Orbán regime. He said that Orbán is on the side of Putin. And Putin is a murderer, and we do not make peace with a murderer but punish him.

Yesterday, media wrote that Orbán was the only EU leader who did not applaud the arrival of President Zelenskiy.

Here is the video:

Of course, Orbán could have posted other photos showing them as equals. Here is one:

Photo: MTI/Miniszterelnöki Sajtóiroda/Fischer Zoltán

Read alsoHungarians living in Ukraine in danger? Anti-Hungarian mood, enforced military conscriptions, atrocities

Source: facebook.com/orbanviktor