Euro News reported that on March 4, in Washington, Hungarian Foreign Minister Peter Szijjarto met with US Secretary of State Marco Rubio to discuss bilateral economic cooperation and the situation in Ukraine, which the US State Department expressed as the urgency to end the conflict in Ukraine.
In an interview after the meeting, Mr. Szijjarto said that despite many disagreements and difficulties, the US government still maintains the stance that the conflict in Ukraine cannot be prolonged - which in his opinion is "good news for Hungary". Mr. Szijjarto continued to share that the US considers peace negotiations the only practical way to end the conflict.
Regarding this week's special EU summit on Ukraine, Mr. Szijjarto reiterated Hungary's stance that the country would not agree to any decision that would threaten to prolong the war.
These were said by the Hungarian Foreign Minister many days before.
Mr. Szijjarto said that only an agreement between the US and Russia can bring true peace, not only for the Central European region but also for the whole of Europe, and called on the EU to prioritize resolving the conflict through diplomacy.
The meeting between Mr Szijjarto and Mr Rubio comes as the Hungarian government has threatened to object to any EU agreement or joint statement on Ukraine ahead of the extraordinary summit on 6 March. The summit will focus on discussions on Ukraine and the EU's defense.
Hungarian Prime Minister Viktor Orban said that the EU should abandon the intention of making a joint statement at the upcoming summit, because according to him, there are still many differences between member countries.
Mr. Orban called on the EU to learn from the US by having a direct dialogue with Russia to seek a lasting peace for Ukraine, and warned that this option may not be in line with the general viewpoint of the majority of members in the bloc.
Unlike most European countries, Hungary has often criticized the EU's efforts to protect Ukraine from Russia's military campaign. Prime Minister Orban has repeatedly opposed and threatened to deny EU sanctions against Russia.
Mr. Orban also reacted strongly at the March 2 summit in London, where top European leaders, including the UK and France, proposed the idea of establishing a voluntary alliance between EU member states to deploy troops to Ukraine as a guarantee after a potential peace deal.
At the meeting, leaders of the countries also pledged to continue military aid to Kiev and affirmed that any negotiations or peace agreements must respect Ukraine's sovereignty.
According to Mr. Orban, the European leaders "want to continue the war instead of peace".
