Hungarian Prime Minister Viktor Orbán has traveled to Ukraine for the first time since the start of the war started by Russia in February 2022.
“Viktor Orbán arrived in Kiev this morning to talk with President Volodymyr Zelensky about peace in Europe,” Hungarian government spokesman Zoltán Kovács wrote on the social media platform X on Tuesday.
According to media reports, Orbán’s convoy first traveled to the Hungarian embassy.
Relations between Kiev and Budapest are considered tense.
Hungary has just taken over the rotating six-month presidency of the Council of the European Union. In an interview shortly before his trip to Kiev, Orbán announced that he wanted to take steps towards peace.
Orbán has previously delayed aid to Ukraine and has repeatedly tried to avoid sanctions against the invading power Russia.
Hungary is still heavily dependent on Russian gas supplies, some of which flow through Ukraine despite the war. However, Kiev does not want to renew the contract, which expires at the end of this year.
Another point of contention is the rights of the Hungarian minority in Ukraine. For years, Orbán has portrayed himself as their protector.
During a football match in late 2022, the 61-year-old also provoked people by wearing a scarf with the outline of Greater Hungary from 1920. At the time, Transcarpathia, which is now part of Ukraine, belonged to Hungary.
The last time Orbán was in Ukraine was in 2015, when Zelensky’s predecessor Petro Poroshenko was still in power.
