Unexpected twist in Trump-Orbán phone call over Ukraine’s EU membership bid

“I’d like to make it clear that no such phone conversation took place,” Péter Szijjártó, Hungary’s foreign minister said today morning. “Not only did the topic not come up, but there was no phone call in the first place.”

Hungary ready to host Russia-Ukraine talks

Hungary is prepared to host the peace talks on the war in Ukraine if necessary, Péter Szijjártó, the foreign minister, said on Thursday, arguing that Hungary was the only European country today capable of conducting dialogue based on mutual respect with the leaders of both the United States and Russia.

In an appearance on the Fight Hour podcast, Szijjártó was asked about a press report saying that Budapest was being considered as a venue for peace talks. He said, according to a ministry statement, that there was always some basis to such rumours that potentially made them credible, adding that there were several reasons why Budapest as a possible venue was believable.

Offer made 3 days after the Russian invasion

Szijjártó noted that three days after the start of the war he spoke with his Russian counterpart as well as the head of the Office of the President of Ukraine, and offered Hungary as a venue for peace talks. He said there were few western European countries that had “maintained their ability over the last three years to conduct fair dialogue based on mutual respect with the leaders of both the United States and Russia”.

Only Orbán can help

“Right now I don’t know any European politician besides Viktor Orbán who can talk to both Donald Trump and Vladimir Putin the same way,” Szijjarto said. “That cooperation based on mutual respect that we have with both the United States and Russia is unique to Hungary in Europe today. I believe this is a huge achievement, because we achieved it in the face of tremendous pressure, since we’ve been saying for three and a half years that diplomatic channels must be kept open in order to end the war.”

“If we’re needed, we’re available. We’re here whenever we’re needed, and we can guarantee the appropriate, fair and safe conditions these peace talks require,” the minister said. “We’d be happy to contribute to the success of the peace efforts.”

Bloomberg spreading fake news concerning Trump call

Meanwhile, Szijjártó dismissed as “fake news” an article from Bloomberg saying US President Donald Trump called Prime Minister Viktor Orban on Monday in connection with Ukraine’s potential European Union accession.

“I’d like to make it clear that no such phone conversation took place,” Szijjártó said. “Not only did the topic not come up, but there was no phone call in the first place… So Bloomberg and all the supposedly extremely well sourced, always balanced and fantastically objective news agencies and media are treating as fact … a phone call that never took place.”

Szijjártó hailed last week’s US-Russia summit as the “most hopeful event of the last three and a half years”, saying it had significantly reduced the risk of a third world war. “And I think that the biggest threat to this peace process that began in Alaska are the European pro-war politicians,” he said, arguing that they had undermined a potential peace agreement in the spring of 2022.

Hungary does refuses Ukraine’s EU membership

“And if the European pro-war politicians already sabotaged the Istanbul peace agreement, I think there’s reason to fear that they will want to do the same in the case of the Alaska peace process,” he said. “I hope they won’t be able to do it. I hope Donald Trump and Vladimir Putin can conclude the process leading to a peace agreement, because … it is a global interest”.

Concerning security guarantees for Ukraine, Szijjártó said EU membership would not constitute such a guarantee, since the EU is not a military alliance. He also said this would be a risk to the future of the EU, arguing that Ukraine’s entry would place “practically crippling” security, political, economic, agricultural and other types of burdens on the bloc.

Zelensky Reluctant to Visit Budapest

We previously reported that the White House is advocating for Budapest as the venue for the hoped-for Zelensky-Trump-Putin summit. Zelensky told the Interfax Ukraine news agency that he would not refuse to hold the meeting in Türkiye, Switzerland or Austria, as these are neutral locations. However, Budapest is a different matter, as Hungary has not supported Ukraine. He added that although Orbán’s policy is not explicitly anti-Ukrainian, it falls short of endorsing support for Ukraine, hvg.hu wrote.

Yesterday, Polish Prime Minister Donald Tusk voiced his opposition to Budapest as a venue for the next round of peace talks. He pointed out that the Budapest Memorandum, which guaranteed Ukraine’s territorial integrity, was destroyed by Russia, thus making a meeting in the Hungarian capital a poor omen.

Read also:

• President Sulyok hesitates to name Russia as perpetrator of Transcarpathian strike
• Russian dawn attack against Transcarpathia: Hungarian community at physical danger

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