Hungary’s Prime Minister Orban sees himself on a “peace mission” in Kiev, Moscow and Beijing. The German government is surprised by his trip. And has made a clear statement.
The German government does not see Hungary’s Prime Minister Viktor Orban as a negotiator on behalf of the European Union during what he himself calls his “peace mission” to Ukraine, Moscow and China. “The travel activity that we are seeing at the moment is something he is doing as Hungarian Prime Minister,” said government spokesman Steffen Hebestreit in Berlin.
“All options are open to him, but not in the name of the EU or as EU Council President,” said Hebestreit. EU chief diplomat Josep Borrell and EU Council President Charles Michel “and no one else” speak for the EU.
Hungary took over the six-month rotating presidency of the EU Council on 1 July.
No Scholz-Orban meeting planned on the sidelines of the NATO summit
When asked whether there would be a bilateral meeting between Chancellor Olaf Scholz (SPD) and Orban on the sidelines of the NATO summit starting in Washington on Tuesday, Hebestreit said that no such meeting had been planned so far. Scholz and Orban last spoke at the most recent EU summit at the end of June.
AA: National concerns should be put aside during Council Presidency
A spokeswoman for the Foreign Office said that the German government expects that every EU Council Presidency – not just the Hungarian one – will put national concerns aside in this role. In other words, “national concerns should not be promoted in the name of the European Union.”
Surprise over cancellation of Baerbock’s visit to Hungary
The Foreign Office was surprised to learn that Hungarian Foreign Minister Peter Szijjarto had cancelled a visit by Foreign Minister Annalena Baerbock (Greens) planned for today due to scheduling conflicts, the spokeswoman said. In view of Orban’s trip to see Russian President Vladimir Putin in Moscow, “there is certainly a need for discussion.” There is no rescheduled date yet.
After visiting Kiev and Moscow, Orban met with China’s head of state and party leader Xi Jinping in Beijing on a surprise visit. Orban wrote in a post on X that China was a “key power” in creating conditions for peace in the war between Russia and Ukraine.
Source: Stern
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