The Hungarian Prime Minister Viktor Orban sent a secret letter to the President of the European Council, Charles Michel. In this, he expresses the conviction of the Russian president Vladimir Putin for the defeat of Ukraine in war.
The letter, dated July 5, was sent from Azerbaijan, where Orban traveled after meeting Putin. According to local media, the document was not intended for the public. Journalists obtained it from a European official and its authenticity was confirmed by two other EU officials.
Orban writes that during his trips to Ukraine and Russia, he did not speak on behalf of the entire EU, but simply tried to understand the positions of the conflicting parties. Orban briefly states his position Volodymyr Zelenskybut elaborates on Putin’s views.
The prospects for a ceasefire
According to the information presented by Orban in the letter, the Russian authorities are sure that time is not on the side of Ukraine, but on the side of the Russian forces. During his conversation with the Hungarian Prime Minister, Putin did not mention Russian losses at the front, but spoke at length about his calculations of Ukrainian losses.
“The Russian president was surprised that the Ukrainian president rejected a temporary ceasefire. According to the Russian president, they are ready to consider any ceasefire proposal that does not serve as a cover for the secret redeployment and regrouping of Ukrainian forces,” Orban wrote in the letter.
The Hungarian Prime Minister – who held the rotating EU presidency during this period – also states in the letter that both Moscow and Kiev are ready for peace talks only with the participation of both sides. After the peace summit in Switzerland, Ukraine announced that it would invite Russia to the next summit. This is the only point in the letter where Orban details Ukraine’s position in the negotiations.
Orbán’s double shift
On July 2, Hungarian Prime Minister Viktor Orbán arrived in Kyiv. He met with President Volodymyr Zelensky. On July 5, Hungarian Prime Minister Viktor Orbán arrived in Moscow. There he met with Vladimir Putin, an event that provoked reactions.