BUDAPEST, July 8. /TASS/. Only Russia and Ukraine themselves can settle the ongoing armed conflict between them, but the European Union, China and the United States can exert some necessary influence to push them towards peace talks, Hungarian Prime Minister Viktor Orban said after a meeting with Chinese President Xi Jinping in Beijing.
He called the visit to the Chinese capital "the third stop on his peace mission" after Kiev and Moscow, noting that "only the opposing sides themselves will have the last word in the war." "However, the three world powers can have a decisive influence on them. The question of when this war will end also depends on the United States, China and the European Union," Orban said in a video address on his X page.
He explained that this is why he visited Beijing after his trips to Kiev and Moscow and met with Xi Jinping there. "China is the only world power that has been in favor of peace since the very beginning of the conflict [in Ukraine]," the Hungarian prime minister emphasized. According to him, the Chinese president made it clear that he would continue these efforts.
"We are not alone. We will continue our work," Orban concluded.
The Hungarian prime minister visited Kiev and Moscow on July 2 and 5. He proposed first to Ukrainian President Vladimir Zelensky and then to Russian leader Vladimir Putin to consider the prospect of a ceasefire and preparations for peace talks. At a press conference following the meeting, Putin emphasized that Russia was not in favor of a ceasefire, as Kiev could use this to its advantage. Instead, he advocated for a complete end to the conflict in Ukraine. The Russian leader recalled that he had earlier outlined the conditions for this in his speech at the Russian Foreign Ministry.