Zelensky invited Orbán to Kyiv

Along with several other EU leaders, Viktor Orbán held face-to-face talks with Volodymyr Zelensky in Brussels on Thursday. The Ukrainian president attended the summit of EU heads of state and government, where he met with leaders of member states divided into four groups.

Orbán was part of the same group as the leaders of Austria, Croatia, Bulgaria, Slovenia, Greece and Cyprus, where, according to Népszava, Zelensky invited Viktor Orbán to visit Kyiv.

The leaders of several member states have already been to Kyiv for bilateral talks. Viktor Orbán has not visited Kyiv, but Hungary's head of state Katalin Novák visited Zelensky last November.

We asked the Prime Minister's Press Secretary whether Orbán had accepted the Ukrainian President's invitation.

Update: Viktor Orbán's Press Chief responded to Telex's inquiry and wrote: "The news is true, the Ukrainian President has invited Viktor Orbán for a visit. When necessary and timely, the Prime Minister will visit Kyiv."

Népszava wrote that the group meeting lasted about half an hour, and the main topic was arms transfers and what weapons Ukraine needs. According to the paper, Orbán and Austrian Chancellor Karl Nehammer immediately said that it was impossible for them to meet the request. Nehammer said Austria was a neutral country, while Orbán explained that Hungary had from the outset maintained that it would not send arms to the war-torn country.

Volodymyr Zelensky's arrival at the EU summit was greeted with almost unanimous applause. One of the very few not joining in was Viktor Orbán, who did, however, go up to the Ukrainian president for a handshake.

The only thing Orbán publicly remarked about the meeting is that "listening to the Ukrainian president, it was clear that this war is going to drag on. We cannot expect it to end soon". Although the Hungarian government will not help the Ukrainians with weapons, it will continue to help them with humanitarian aid, the prime minister said.