Orbán and Zelensky speak on the phone

Hungarian Prime Minister Viktor Orbán had a telephone conversation with Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky on Wednesday, the Prime Minister's Press Secretary told MTI.

According to Bertalan Havasi, the main purpose of the call was to "review all important elements of Hungarian-Ukrainian relations. One of the key topics was the issue of war and peace".

The Prime Minister's Press Secretary did not provide any further details on what exactly the two sides discussed, the statement only said that Orbán told Zelensky that Hungary was ready to contribute to all initiatives and efforts that would lead to peace, and that the parties agreed to continue talks.

Describing the call on X, Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky wrote: “I had a lengthy and focused call with Hungary’s Prime Minister and invited him to the Peace Summit. Hungary’s position is important to us in terms of bringing peace closer and our shared regional security.

Zelensky also said that they coordinated on resolving bilateral issues, as well as on the development of cooperation in trade, energy and logistics, and added that Ukraine is interested in good-neighbourly relations with Hungary, and finally said: “I am confident that Ukraine's swift accession to the EU will benefit both of our states.”

The discussion about the timing of an Orbán-Zelensky meeting has been ongoing ever since Russia invaded Ukraine in February 2022. According to the Hungarian government, Ukraine would first have to fulfil certain preconditions, but this is still a long way off. The two leaders have occasionally crossed paths at diplomatic gatherings abroad, most recently in December last year in Argentina.