Orban visits Ukraine, calls for ceasefire to speed up peace talks

Hungarian Prime Minister Viktor Orban has urged Kiev to work towards a "quick ceasefire" in Ukraine that could pave the way for negotiations with Russia to end more than two years of war.

Orban issued the appeal standing next to President Volodymyr Zelenskyy on Tuesday during a surprise visit to Ukraine, the first by the vocal critic of Western support for Kiev.

"I asked the president to consider whether... a quick ceasefire could speed up the peace talks," the Hungarian leader told reporters with Zelenskyy, adding that the ceasefire he envisions would be "time-limited".

Unlike many other European leaders, Orban had not visited Kiev since Russia launched its military campaign in February 2022 and has publicly hit out at Europe's financial and military aid, temporarily blocking a $53 billion aid package for weeks.

The Hungarian PM has also blasted the EU's move to open formal membership talks with Kiev - though he abstained rather than vetoing it.

Orban, in power since 2010, met with Putin in October 2023 at a regional summit in Beijing, becoming the first EU leader to do so since the start of the war.

A 'just peace'

Hungary openly opposes sanctions on Russia, though has so far only sought to hold up the EU's measures, not outright block them.

The Kremlin said earlier Tuesday it expected little to come of the visit but described Orban as a "tough" politician who keenly defended his country's interests.

The visit to Ukraine comes the day after Hungary took over the EU's rotating presidency for the next six months, a position which gives the central European state sway over the bloc's agenda and priorities for the rest of the year.

Orban said he would report on his talks with Zelenskyy to EU prime ministers "so that the necessary European decisions can be taken."

Zelenskyy said the timing of the visit, after Hungary took over EU presidency, was symbolic.

"This is a clear indication of our common European priorities, of how important it is to bring a just peace to Ukraine," he said, urging European countries to maintain military support.

Orban's visit came as Russian forces killed one person and wounded seven more in the southern Kherson region, which is partially occupied.

Moscow has claimed the capture of a string of villages in eastern Ukraine in recent weeks.

Historic tensions

Relations have been frosty between Orban and Zelenskyy since the start of the war.

After winning re-election in April 2022, Orban said the Ukrainian leader was an "opponent" that he had managed to defeat in the campaign.

Zelenskyy had personally called out Orban for his lack of support to Kiev in the days after the war erupted - a position that has only appeared to harden this year.

In December, Zelenskyy sought out the Hungarian leader at the inauguration of Argentine President Javier Milei for what he called a "frank" conversation.

Videos circulated online showing the pair locked in a tense exchange, with Orban standing with his back to the wall and Zelenskyy in front of him.

The pair were again filmed in a short, animated exchange, last week on the sidelines of an EU Council meeting in Brussels.

Hungary wields outsize influence over the West's support for Ukraine given its membership of both the EU and NATO.

That gives it the ability to thwart, delay, water down or outright block initiatives and funding to support Kiev.

After a phone call in May, Zelenskyy said: "Hungary's position is important to us when it comes to bringing peace and common regional security closer."