BUDAPEST, July 15. /TASS/. Hungarian Prime Minister Viktor Orban has sent proposals on settling the Ukrainian conflict to EU leaders following his July 2-11 peacemaking mission during which he visited Russia, the US, and Ukraine.
His political director Balazs Orban said that each European leader had received the Hungarian plan of action. "The prime minister informed the leaders of the European Union in writing about the results of the first round of talks, the peace mission and Hungary’s proposals. If Europe wants peace and wants to have a decisive vote in the settlement of the military conflict and the end to the bloodshed, it should develop and implement a change in its political course now," the official told the Magyar Nemzet newspaper.
According to Orban’s political director, Hungary’s peace plan includes "the realistic assessment of the situation, realistic goals and the corresponding timetable" of actions. "This is what our approach is based on," he stressed.
During his 10-day peacemaking mission, the Hungarian premier held talks with Vladimir Zelensky in Kiev on July 2, and three days later met in Moscow with Russian President Vladimir Putin. Then he visited Beijing for a meeting with Chinese leader Xi Jinping and went to Washington where he talked with Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan on the sidelines of a NATO summit. Later, he traveled to Florida for a meeting with ex-US President Donald Trump with whom he also discussed the ways of settling the Ukrainian crisis.
"The Hungarian prime minister has informed the EU leaders of his visits in detail. These trips were very important because currently only our country has up-to-date and specific information about what the conflicting sides and the most important mediators think and how various interests may be taken into account. If we take peace seriously, then this is precisely the way to develop a plan which will have at least minimal chances to be implemented," the Hungarian official said.
He did not specify as to whether there had been any reaction from European capitals to Budapest’s proposals. That said, responding to Brussels’ criticism of Hungary’s peacemaking mission, Orban’s political director confirmed that the country’s government thinks it necessary to keep communication channels with Moscow open in order to settle the Ukrainian conflict. "If we indeed want peace, we must interact with each other," he stressed, adding that "there are political forces that support war and do not want peace in Europe.".