TAIPEI, Taiwan (AP) — Chinese President Xi Jinping called on countries around the world to help. Russia and Ukraine He will resume direct dialogue when he meets Hungarian Prime Minister Viktor Orban on Monday, state CCTV reported.
Prime Minister Orban made a surprise visit to China. A similar trip last week He visited Russia and Ukraine to discuss prospects for a peaceful resolution to the war that has lasted for more than two years. Hungary assumes rotating presidency This month, the country left the European Union and Prime Minister Orban embarked on a peace mission. It does not have the support of other European leaders.
“China is a key country in creating conditions for peace in the war between Russia and Ukraine,” Orban wrote on social media platform X. “That is why I met with President Xi Jinping in Beijing just two months after his state visit to Budapest.”
“Peace Mission 3.0” was the caption the Prime Minister attached to a photo he posted to X upon his arrival in Beijing.
During his meeting with Xi, Prime Minister Orban described China as a stabilizing force amid global turmoil and praised China’s “constructive and important” peace efforts.
China has been pushing a six-point peace plan it jointly announced with Brazil in May. China claims to be neutral in the conflict but in practice has supported Moscow through frequent state visits, expanded trade and joint military exercises.
While hosting Orban, Xi called on Russia and Ukraine to call for a ceasefire and urged other major powers to create a favorable environment for talks. A ceasefire can only be achieved if all major powers release “positive energy, not negative energy,” Xi said, according to CCTV.
Prime Minister Orbán hosted the Chinese leader in Hungary just two months ago. This is part of a three-country European tour that also includes stops in France and Serbia, which, unlike the other two, are not members of the EU or NATO.
During the visit, China upgraded its relations with Hungary to an “all-weather comprehensive strategic partnership,” one of the highest diplomatic ties titles that applies only to Hungary, as well as Belarus, Pakistan and Venezuela.
Hungary under Orban’s administration has built strong political and economic ties with China. Hungary has hosted many Chinese electric vehicle battery factories, and in December, Chinese EV manufacturer BYD announced it would open a battery factory in China. Europe’s first EV production plant It is in the southern part of the country.
Orban is widely seen as having the closest ties among European leaders to Chinese President Xi Jinping and Russian President Vladimir Putin. Visit to Moscow It drew condemnation from Kiev and EU officials last week.
Putin invited Orban to come to Moscow as a representative of the European Council, but several European officials rejected the idea, saying Orban had no mandate beyond discussing bilateral relations.
The Hungarian Prime Minister regularly Block, delay, or reduce The EU is backing Kiev in efforts to impose sanctions on Moscow for its actions in Ukraine. He has long called for a cessation of hostilities in Ukraine but has not said what that would mean for the country’s territorial integrity or future security.
That stance has irritated Hungary’s EU and NATO allies, who have condemned Russia’s aggression as a violation of international law and a threat to security in eastern Europe.
Standing next to Orban in Moscow last week, Putin declared that Russia would not accept any ceasefire or temporary cessation of fighting that would allow Ukraine to “repair its losses, regroup and rearm.”
Putin has repeatedly demanded that Ukrainian troops withdraw from four areas that Moscow claims to have annexed in 2022 as a condition for any future peace talks. Ukraine and its Western allies have rejected the demand, suggesting it is tantamount to asking Kiev to withdraw from its territory.
Orban is next due to travel to Washington DC, where NATO leaders are due to hold a summit to discuss ways to ensure the alliance’s continued support for Ukraine.
“Next stop: Washington,” Orban posted on his social media accounts on Monday. It was unclear whether he would meet separately with President Joe Biden or with President Donald Trump, whose presidential candidate Orban has openly supported.
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Associated Press writers Adam Schreck in Bangkok, Justin Spike in Budapest, Hungary and Vladimir Isachenkov in Moscow contributed to this report.