Hungarian Prime Minister Viktor Orbán announced that the meeting between Donald Trump and Vladimir Putin in Budapest is a foregone conclusion, despite both parties canceling the meetup.
“This summit will take place. Take it as a fact,” he said in an interview with M1 television. He said that although a specific date had not yet been announced, “the framework for this meeting already exists” and when both Putin and Trump decide to meet, the meetup “can be finalized very quickly.”
He referred to the Sharm el-Sheikh peace summit on the Gaza Strip as an example, which he noted was finalized in just three days after prior, behind-the-scenes preparations.
Given that some commentators signaled that the meetup cancellation could mean the war is set to drag on for years, Orbán’s statement appears to be a drastically more optimistic assessment of the situation. Furthermore, Trump has stated that he will not meet with Putin again unless a firm peace deal is hammered out beforehand.
“I’ll need to know that we’ll reach an agreement. I won’t waste my time,” Trump said during his visit to Qatar. He said his goal is peace and said he maintained a close personal relationship with Putin, although he said that Putin’s current stance was “very disappointing.”
Orbán emphasized that the Trump-Putin talks should address European security more broadly and not be limited to negotiations solely about the war between Ukraine and Russia. He also urged Europe to begin direct negotiations with Moscow to help hasten the peace process.
Russia appears to be holding the door open to the Budapest meetup. A few days ago, Kremlin spokesman Dmitry Peskov spoke about the cancellation.
“There were no clear agreements on a specific date. Therefore, it would be inappropriate to say that the summit has been canceled,” he said in an interview with Pavel Zarubin. He added that there was a desire from both sides to resume dialogue in the near future.
Polish Prime Minister Donald Tusk stated that Putin should be arrested if he attempts to fly to Budapest, as Hungary is an EU country. Other leaders in Europe may also pounce at the opportunity to bring Putin into custody, as he is wanted on war crime charges by the ICC>
Peskov also noted that “not everyone is interested in holding the summit,” but did not specify anyone or any countries.
One major point of concern for the Hungarians is their continued flow of Russian gas and oil, which helps Hungary achieve some of the lowest energy bills in Europe.
The Hungarian prime minister said he wanted to persuade Trump to lift sanctions on the Russian oil sector.
“Donald Trump is wrong,” he said during a visit to Italy, referring to restrictions imposed on Rosneft and Lukoil. Foreign Minister Péter Szijjártó said that Orbán could appear in Washington “even next week” if necessary.
Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky has estimated that new sanctions could reduce Russian oil exports by 50 percent, which would mean a loss of up to $5 billion per month for Russia. Some experts believe this could significantly reduce financing for Russia’s war, although others point out that Moscow has learned to circumvent “simple energy sanctions” that are implemented.
