LONDON, July 17. /TASS/. In a letter to European Council President Charles Michel, Hungarian Prime Minister Viktor Orban said Republican presidential candidate Donald Trump plans to immediately initiate peace talks on Ukraine if he wins the presidential election, the Financial Times reported citing the letter.
"We can expect no peace initiative coming from [Trump] until the elections. I can however surely state that shortly after his election victory, he will not wait until his inauguration, but will be ready to act as a peace broker immediately," the letter says. "He has detailed and well-founded plans for this."
"I am more than convinced that in the likely outcome of the victory of President Trump, the proportion of the financial burden between the US and the EU will significantly change to the EU’s disadvantage when it comes to the financial support of Ukraine," Orban added.
He went on to say that in the name of trans-Atlantic unity, Europe’s strategy on Ukraine "has copied the pro-war policy of the US."
"We have not had a sovereign and independent European strategy or political action plan up to now. I propose discussing whether the continuation of this policy is rational in the future," the letter says.
In this regard, the Hungarian premier urged his EU colleagues to use the window of opportunity in order to begin a new chapter in European policies "with a strong moral and rational basis" and therefore to "make an effort to decrease tensions and/or create the conditions for a temporary ceasefire and/or start peace negotiations."
According to Reuters, Michel rejected Orban’s peace initiatives.
Tensions with Brussels
In response to Orban’s peace initiative, Brussels-based European institutions have immediately taken administrative measures against Hungary. On Tuesday, a group of European Parliament members suggested temporary stripping Hungary of its right to vote in the Council of the European Union.
On Monday, European Commission chief Ursula von der Leyen canceled the EC board's visit to Hungary and lowered the level of representation at informal EU Council meetings under the Hungarian presidency. This decision is unprecedented in the EU's history.
Earlier it was reported that EU diplomatic chief Josep Borrell, who is Von der Leyen's direct subordinate, intended to convene an unscheduled meeting of foreign ministers in Brussels in August on the same day that Hungary intended to convene an informal meeting of EU foreign ministers in Budapest, effectively forcing Prime Minister Viktor Orban to move it to Brussels' European Quarter.
Orban’s mission
Orban's trip to Kiev, Moscow, Beijing and Washington from July 2 to 11 kicked off the day after the Hungarian presidency of the EU Council began. Discussing potential peace initiatives without the European Commission's involvement and even without Brussels' authorization caused an outcry of indignation in the EU leadership. They saw Hungary's actions as undermining European unity and the European Commission's policy of supporting Ukraine.
The European Commission and the European Council, even before Orban's visit to Russia began, rushed to circulate statements that Orban has no EU mandate to negotiate with Russia.
The European Parliament was the first to impose departmental sanctions against Hungary when it announced that, contrary to tradition, Orban, as prime minister of the EU presidency, would not be invited to the first session of the European Parliament in Strasbourg on July 16-19.