Orban calls for cease-fire during visit to Ukraine

Hungary's Prime Minister Viktor Orban called for a cease-fire in the Russia-Ukraine conflict on Tuesday, during a visit to Kyiv.

Orban said a cease-fire would speed up negotiations to end the conflict permanently.

His visit to the Ukrainian capital was one of his first acts since Hungary took over the six-month rotating presidency of the EU's European Council on Monday.

"My first trip has taken me here because the issue of peace is important, not only for Ukraine but for the whole of Europe," Orban told reporters. "This war that you are suffering is deeply impacting European security."

Orban met with Ukraine's President Volodymyr Zelensky and later said they had discussed the idea

of a cease-fire.

"I have asked the president to consider whether ... a quick cease-fire could be used to speed up peace negotiations ... I am grateful for his frank dialogue and his answers," Orban said.

Zelensky told reporters his priority was to see "Europe's support for Ukraine maintained at sufficient level" and that it was "important for cooperation between all the neighbors in Europe to become more meaningful and mutually beneficial".

He later wrote on X that Orban's visit was a "clear signal to all of us of the importance of unity in Europe and taking collective steps" and added that he and Orban had "discussed the path to a just, lasting, and fair peace".

However, a government spokesperson of Ukraine later said the nation does not favor a cease-fire but would prefer to find a lasting peace through an international peace summit.

In his role as president of the European Council, Orban will have a lot of influence in the coming months. In the past, he has sometimes been out of step with other national leaders in the 27-nation bloc, especially around the issue of Ukraine, and he previously slowed the progress of a 50-billion-euro ($54-billion) EU aid package for Kyiv.

During their meeting, Orban and Zelensky also discussed ways the nations could work together in the infrastructure and energy sectors, cross-border collaboration, and bilateral trade.

The BBC said they also spoke about Ukraine's large population of ethnic Hungarians.

Orban, who was making his first visit to Ukraine for 12 years, also said the nations may sign a bilateral agreement to regulate ties.

"We would like to make the relationship between the two countries better," Orban said. "We would like to make a broad bilateral agreement with Ukraine, similar to the ones we already made with our neighbors. We would be happy to take part in the modernization of Ukraine's economy, we would like an ordered framework for this."

earle@mail.chinadailyuk.com