Hungarian Prime Minister Viktor Orbán has called on Charles Michel, President of the European Council, to reopen diplomatic channels with Russia to facilitate "real negotiations" for peace.
Negotiations With China
According to Ziare, Orbán's appeal follows discussions with political leaders from Ukraine, Russia, China, Turkey, and the United States.
Orbán argues that while external diplomacy plays a minor role in negotiating peace with Russia, Europe should actively involve China in the diplomatic process.
He has proposed high-level political negotiations with China to plan the next peace conference and urged for the resumption of direct diplomatic communications with Russia. At the same time, he emphasized maintaining current high-level political relations with Ukraine.
Not Promising
In his statement, Orbán highlighted the need to rehabilitate direct political communication channels, suggesting that Europe should support China's diplomatic missions to advance peace efforts. Despite this, Orbán noted that recent reports from China regarding a potential ceasefire in Ukraine are not promising.
China has been advocating for a ceasefire and peace discussions as outlined in international documents. However, the Chinese government is expected to play a more active role only if there is a near-certain chance of success. Currently, Chinese assessments indicate that the conditions are not yet favorable for such a shift in strategy.
