Pro-Moscow Orbán meets Trump, Musk to discuss his Ukraine “peace” initiatives

Hungary plans to continue its self-proclaimed Ukraine peace mission following its pro-Russian Prime Minister Viktor Orbán’s meeting with US president-elect Donald Trump, AFP reported on 10 December. Hungarian Foreign Minister Péter Szijjártó announced that “there will be at least two more events this week which will be part of the Hungarian peace mission,” though he did not provide specific details during a press briefing in Budapest.

Russian President Putin’s ally Orbán has opposed military aid to Ukraine since Russia’s 2022 invasion, pushing for peace talks that would freeze the war and solidify Moscow’s control of occupied territories. In July, he stirred EU tensions by engaging in separate diplomacy with Russia after Hungary assumed the EU’s rotating presidency.

The announcement comes after Orbán, who maintains close political ties with both Trump and Russian President Vladimir Putin within the European Union, met with Trump in the US. AFP says that Orbán also held talks with Trump’s adviser Elon Musk, owner of social media network X, according to the Hungarian leader’s Facebook post.

“It is no coincidence that […] those who are pushing for peace in Ukraine were delighted that President Donald Trump won this election,” Szijjártó said at the briefing.

The meeting occurred amid growing concerns about Ukraine’s future support. Trump reiterated in a recently aired interview that he would “probably” reduce US aid to Ukraine. On his Truth Social platform, the President-elect called for an “immediate ceasefire,” claiming that Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy was ready to “make a deal and stop the madness.”

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