Hungary’s Prime Minister Viktor Orbán reported on X that he spoke by phone with Russian President Vladimir Putin for an hour today, and writing that these “are the most dangerous weeks” in the entire Ukraine conflict, and Budapest is “taking every possible diplomatic step to argue in favor of a ceasefire and peace talks.”
Orbán’s press chief Bertalan Havasi told the Hungary’s oldest news agency MTI (National News Agency) that Orbán indicated he had a vested interest in finding a political and diplomatic solution to the crisis, with regard to his relations with a number of Western leaders. The two leaders also reviewed their continuously expanding bilateral economic and trade cooperation, in particular providing further support for their mutually advantageous energy projects.
The Russian President’s website said that trade and in particular energy cooperation were the initial focus of their call. Then the two leaders discussed the Ukraine conflict, in which “Viktor Orban expressed interest in facilitating a joint search for political and diplomatic solutions to the crisis, including in the context of his contacts with a number of Western leaders.” RT’s coverage of their discussion said that later in the day, Kremlin spokesman Dmitry Peskov was asked whether Orbán delivered any messages from U.S. President-elect Donald Trump, whom he had met on Dec. 9 in Florida, and Peskov answered that no such messages were conveyed.
Yesterday, Orbán spoke to university students at the inauguration of the refurbished buildings at the University of Veterinary Medicine. He declared: “The liberal world order is over.... As the changes come, only those nations can be winners that can bring the most out of themselves…. Rather than following a path designated by others, we want to exploit the advantages that stem from our own history, the structure of our own economy and our own culture…. Those who assimilate, fall into line, are unable to show their own values or discover the strength inherent in their national character will soon become irrelevant.” Hungary is positioned as “the westernmost Eastern and the easternmost Western nation,” and it seeks to “connect to all the economic powerhouses of the world.”
He added that it is to be hoped that in 2025, we will bring the war to a conclusion, will guide the functioning of the European economy back to normality, and will launch the Hungarian economy on a course of growth.
