Putin’s Latest Speech Takes UKRAINIANS by SURPRISE

PUTIN for PEACE?

Russian President Vladimir Putin has made it plain that peace negotiations can only take place if Ukraine effectively surrenders, according to Hungarian Prime Minister Viktor Orban, who is pushing for a peace agreement to end the conflict in Ukraine.

 

The pursuit of peace will not be possible if we remain in Brussels. After his visit, Orban declared that “action must be taken” in a routine interview on Hungarian state radio.

 

Orban gained attention this week when he visited Moscow and Kyiv back-to-back, a few days before a significant NATO summit in Washington, D.C., the following week. This is Orban’s first visit to Ukraine since the invasion began in February 2022. Hungary began its six-month term as EU president on Monday. The position is rotated among all members.

 

In a hastily released statement, European Union Foreign Policy chief Josep Borrell emphasized that Orban lacked a mandate from the union and that he was “not representing the EU in any form.”

Petteri Orpo, the prime minister of Finland, said on social media platform X that the visit demonstrates “disregard for the duties of the EU presidency and undermines interests of the European Union,” calling it “disturbing” news.

 

Putin stated that he and Orban had discussed “possible ways of resolving” the situation, restating his demands that Ukraine remove all of its forces from annexed regions. Orban asserted that he and Putin had had a “really useful, frank conversation” concerning Ukraine.

 

Dmitry Peskov, a spokesman for the Kremlin, asserted that until Orban’s camp made contact with them the day before he arrived, Russia was unaware of the visit. Even still, Orban acknowledged that following his two trips, he came to the realization that Kyiv and Moscow’s “positions are far apart” and that “the number of steps needed to end the war and bring about peace is many,” according to Euractiv.

 

It was emphasized by the Ukrainian foreign ministry that Orban had traveled “without any agreement or coordination with Ukraine.”

 

Next week, NATO leaders will gather in Washington, D.C., to commemorate the alliance’s 75th anniversary and discuss ways to end the protracted conflict between Russia and Ukraine.