BEIJING (AP) — Chinese President Xi Jinping called on world powers to help Russia and Ukraine resume direct dialogue and negotiations during a meeting Monday with Hungarian Prime Minister Viktor Orbán, according to state broadcaster CCTV.
Orbán made a surprise visit to China after similar trips last week to Russia and Ukraine to discuss prospects for a peaceful settlement in Ukraine.
Orban praised China’s “constructive and important initiatives” to achieve peace and described Beijing as a stabilizing force amid global turbulence, according to CCTV.
Besides Russia and Ukraine, the end of the war “depends on the decision of three world powers, the United States, the European Union and China,” Orbán wrote in a Facebook post showing him shaking hands with Xi.
Orbán met Xi just two months ago when he hosted the Chinese leader in Hungary as part of a three-nation European tour that also included stops in France and Serbia, which unlike the other two is not a member of the European Union or NATO.
Hungary, under Orbán, has forged significant political and economic ties with China. The European nation is home to a number of Chinese electric vehicle battery factories, and in December it announced that Chinese electric vehicle manufacturing giant BYD would open its doors first European factory for the production of electric vehicles in the south of the country.
“Peace Mission 3.0,” is how Orbán captioned a photo posted Monday morning on the social network X showing him getting off a plane in Beijing. He was greeted by Chinese Vice Foreign Minister Hua Chunying and other officials.
His previously unannounced visit follows similar trips last week to Moscow and kyiv, where he proposed that Ukraine consider agreeing to an immediate ceasefire with Russia.
His visit to Moscow drew condemnation from kyiv and European leaders.
“The number of countries that are able to engage in dialogue with both warring parties is decreasing,” Orbán said. “Hungary is gradually becoming the only country in Europe that is able to engage in dialogue with everyone.”
Hungary took over the rotating EU presidency in early July, and Russian President Vladimir Putin suggested that Orbán had come to Moscow as a senior representative of the European Council. Several senior European officials rejected the suggestion, saying Orbán had no mandate for anything other than a discussion of bilateral relations.
The Hungarian prime minister, widely regarded as having the warmest relations with Putin among EU leadersregularly blocked, delayed or diluted The EU is trying to help kyiv and impose sanctions on Moscow for its actions in Ukraine. It has long advocated for a cessation of hostilities in Ukraine, but without specifying what this might mean for the country’s territorial integrity or future security.
This stance has frustrated Hungary’s allies in the EU and NATO, who have denounced Russia’s actions as a violation of international law and a threat to the security of Eastern European countries.
