Orban writes about Trump's 'peaceful' plan in letter to EU leaders and suggests engagement with Russia - FT
Kyiv • UNN
Hungarian Prime Minister Viktor Orban, amid private talks with US Republican presidential candidate Donald Trump, wrote a letter to EU leaders about Trump's "peace" plan and put forward an idea for cooperation with Russia.
Hungarian Prime Minister Viktor Orban has written a letter to EU leaders about Trump's "peaceful" plan and put forward an idea for cooperation with Russia amid private talks with US Republican presidential candidate Donald Trump, the Financial Times reports, UNN reports.
Details
"We cannot expect any peace initiative from [Trump] before the election. However, I can state with certainty that soon after his election victory, he will not wait until his inauguration, but will be ready to act immediately as a peace mediator," Orban wrote in a letter sent to European Council President Charles Michel and other EU leaders. - "He has detailed and well-founded plans to do so.
"This prospect means that the EU should resume direct diplomatic contacts with Russia and start 'high-level' talks with China to find a peaceful solution to the war in Ukraine," the newspaper reports, quoting the Hungarian prime minister as saying in a private letter to EU leaders after consultations in Moscow and Beijing.
This means that the EU should anticipate a change in US policy as indicated, Orban said, and "either accept the need for immediate negotiations between Russia and Ukraine or take on more responsibility for financing Ukraine's defense.
J.D. Vance, the Republican senator from Ohio whom Trump chose as his vice presidential candidate on Monday, called on Europe to take on a greater burden of support for Ukraine in a February article in the FT newspaper.
"I am more than convinced that with the likely outcome of President Trump's victory, the proportion of the financial burden between the US and the EU will change significantly to the EU's disadvantage when it comes to financial support for Ukraine," Orban wrote in the letter.
The Hungarian prime minister, who, as the newspaper notes, has long been the most pro-Russian leader in the EU, criticizing Western sanctions against Moscow and military support for Ukraine, demanding a ceasefire during the war and peace talks, wrote that "our European strategy in the name of transatlantic unity has copied the pro-war policy of the United States.
"Until now, we have not had a sovereign and independent European strategy or political action plan. I propose to discuss whether it is advisable to continue this policy in the future," Orban said.
He told EU leaders: "We can find a window of opportunity with a strong moral and rational basis to start a new chapter in our policy...[and] make efforts to reduce tensions and/or create conditions for a temporary ceasefire and/or the start of peace talks.
Addendum
Orbán's description of Trump's "peaceful" plan for Ukraine, as the newspaper notes, "is in line with a policy paper on the conflict written by two allies of the former president who are expected to take top national security posts in his administration if he wins the November US election.
