BUDAPEST, July 15. /TASS/. Hungarian Prime Minister Viktor Orban’s peacekeeping trips to Kiev and Moscow have demonstrated that third-country mediatory efforts will be needed, Hungarian prime minister’s political adviser Balazs Orban (no relation) said.

The Hungarian prime minister visited Kiev on July 2 and held talks with Ukrainian President Vladimir Zelensky. Three days later, he went to Moscow to speak with the Russian leader, Vladimir Putin. These trips left him with the impression that "Ukraine and Russia are set to continue fighting," the adviser said, adding that "if no external mediators are involved, we will see serious destruction" in Ukraine.

According to Balazs Orban, Hungary thinks that it "can play an important mediatory role" in the settlement effort but much will depend on the leading global centers of power. "There are a number of players in international politics whom it is worth holding talks with and encouraging toward joint efforts," he said, adding that the United States, the European Union, China, and, probably, Turkey are among them.

Orban’s mission

During his ten-day peacekeeping mission, the Hungarian prime minister visited Kiev and Moscow, along with Beijing, where he met with Chinese President Xi Jinping, and Washington, where he held talks with Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan on the sidelines of the NATO summit. Moreover, after the summit, he visited former US President Donald Trump at his Florida residence. The two discussed ways to achieve peace in Ukraine, among other things. After this meeting, Orban said that he was sure that Trump, should he win the US presidential election in November, will resolve this problem.

"The United States should play a key role [in settling the conflict in Ukraine], as Europe’s policy has completely fizzled. As concerns this matter, Europe’s strategic autonomy is an illusion. The Europeans are following the Biden administration, which is fighting for its political life. What matters most for them now is whether Joe Biden stays in the presidential race at all. That is why they care little about foreign policy," the adviser to the Hungarian prime minister noted.

"Unlike them, Donald Trump speaks openly for peace. He says that this war should never be unleashed and the conflict [in Ukraine] would never have flared if he won the presidency," Balazs Orban said.

He recalled that he was present at the prime minister’s meeting with Trump at the latter’s Mar-a-Lago residence in Florida on July 11 and that Trump "reiterated that peace is his priority."

"But he should get political power first. That is why no initiatives on this matter should be expected from him in the next few months. So, we tell Europe: if we want to play a decisive role in resolving the Ukrainian conflict, we must act now," the adviser stressed.