Historic Orbán-Zelensky meeting: trust rebuilt, ceasefire on the horizon? – PHOTOS, VIDEOS

Prime Minister Viktor Orbán, visiting Kyiv on Tuesday, asked Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky to consider a ceasefire tied to a deadline.

At a press conference held jointly with the Ukrainian president, Orbán thanked his host for the invitation, noting that they had agreed to today’s talks at their meeting in Brussels last Thursday.

Orbán said it was his first foreign trip after Hungary’s taking over the European Union’s presidency on Monday, adding: “Peace is important not only for Ukraine but for the whole of Europe.”

Orbán said he appreciated Zelensky’s initiatives aimed at creating peace, but added that those initiatives would take a long time to come to fruition.

“The ways of international diplomacy are slow and complicated … I put it to the president that we should consider whether the order may be reversed by speeding up peace talks with a quick ceasefire,” Orbán said. “A ceasefire tied to a deadline, which could offer the opportunity to accelerate peace talks; I have assessed the options for that scenario,” he added.

Orbán said he had cleared those issues up with the Ukrainian president, adding he was grateful for the honest talks and answers. He said he would prepare a report for the European Council “that could be a baseline for the necessary European decisions”.

Hungary will help Ukraine, Orbán said

He wished success to Ukraine and said Hungary was “at Ukraine’s disposal” during its EU presidency, and would help wherever it could.

Orbán said he had come to Kyiv to achieve progress in bilateral ties. He called the talks constructive, adding a meeting had been long overdue in view of the many issues needing resolution, “over which we have negotiated and debated a lot in the past years”.

Photo: FB/Orbán

“We are trying to put the debates of the past behind us and concentrate on the period ahead of us,” he said.

Orbán said he wished that ties between Hungary and Ukraine were much better, adding that Hungary wanted to sign a comprehensive cooperation agreement with Ukraine, similarly to many of its other neighbours.

Hungary is also willing to take part in the modernisation of the Ukrainian economy, Orbán said, adding that the process required a regulated framework.

First Ukrainian school may open in Hungary

Regarding the situation of the ethnic Hungarian minority in Ukraine, Orbán said he saw a chance for progress. He welcomed Zelensky’s proposal to set up a Ukrainian school in Hungary. Hungary will fund the schools, “and set up as many as necessary. If there’s need for one, then one, and if there’s need for ten, then ten”, he said.

Ukrainians have always been present in Hungary, which also has a Ukrainian minority self-government, he said. At the same time, there are many more now with the influx of refugees, he added. Those families need care, work, a livelihood and security, and the children need adequate schools and good teachers, he said, adding it was important that Ukrainians in Hungary felt at home there.

The joint press conference:

Zelensky, Orbán agree to prepare bilateral agreement to overcome disagreements

Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky on Tuesday said he and Hungarian Prime Minister Viktor Orbán had agreed to prepare a bilateral agreement aimed at overcoming disagreements between their countries.

“Everything we discussed today serves as a basis for a future bilateral document between our states which will regulate all segments of our relations and will be mutually beneficial for both countries,” Zelensky told a press conference after talks with Orbán. He added that this agreement would make it possible for Ukraine to benefit from “all the positives of European unity”.

Zelensky said he had proposed opening a Ukrainian school in Hungary for the Ukrainian children there, adding that Orbán had assured him of his support for the initiative.

He welcomed that the Hungarian prime minister’s first foreign trip after Hungary’s taking over the European Union’s presidency was to Ukraine. “This demonstrates our joint European priority,” he said. “It is important for there to be peace, so that we can put the strengthening of Europe on new foundations,” he said.

Zelensky grateful for Hungary’s support

Zelensky expressed his gratitude to Hungary for its humanitarian support for Ukraine, underlining that he believed that saving lives was the most important consideration. “Hungary is prepared to cooperate effectively in the interest of achieving long-term security in our region and Europe,” he said. Zelensky said he and Orbán had discussed in detail the ways Hungary could participate in the organisation of a second global peace summit, which Kyiv hopes could take place as early as later this year.

“We will be grateful to Hungary if it supports us in this,” he said. “It is important for Hungary’s EU presidency to be effective. Though our political views don’t always align, we both serve the strengthening of Europe, social progress and the economic prosperity of European businesses.”

Photo: FB/Orbán

Zelensky said Ukraine’s accession to the EU would be a long process, underlining the importance of Europe’s continued support for Ukraine and his country’s beneficial cooperation with all of its neighbours.

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