Hungarian Prime Minister Viktor Orban said he will continue his self-proclaimed "peace mission" despite criticism from the European Union that he has exceeded the role of his country's presidency in the bloc, UNN reports citing Bloomberg.
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"The EU should join China, and assuming Donald Trump returns to power, and the United States to put pressure on Russia and Ukraine to start peace talks," Orban said in an interview with state radio on Friday, as quoted by the newspaper.
Since Hungary took over the predominantly administrative role of the EU presidency on July 1, Orban has used this to raise his profile in international diplomacy, meeting with leaders including Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy, Russian President Vladimir Putin, Chinese President Xi Jinping, and Trump.
Orbán said he would continue to announce his meetings only after they take place, as he did with his unannounced trips to Russia and China. The newly re-elected President of the European Commission, Ursula von der Leyen, on Thursday called Orban's efforts a "mission of appeasement." The Hungarian leader on Friday called von der Leyen "naive.
The European Commission said on Monday that it will reduce its participation in informal meetings planned by Hungary during its EU presidency, following Orban's visits to Moscow and Beijing. The European Commission will also skip the traditional visit of members of the European institution to the presidency, the newspaper writes.