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EU Confidential

Viktor Orbán's rogue “peace missions” to Kyiv, Moscow, Beijing and Washington

EU Confidential

POLITICO

Politics, News Commentary, News

4.4175 Ratings

🗓️ 12 July 2024

⏱️ 32 minutes

🧾️ Download transcript

Summary

Just days into his country's rotating presidency of the Council of the European Union, Hungary Prime Minister Viktor Orbán again stunned other European leaders by setting off on a series of visits to Kyiv, Moscow and Beijing, styling himself as a peace negotiator with a mandate from Brussels. Host Sarah Wheaton and POLITICO's chief EU correspondent Barbara Moens discuss Orbán's rough-and-tumble diplomacy tour and reactions it has provoked among the bloc's politicians and diplomats. But beyond angry tweets and statements clarifying that Orbán represents only his own country and not the bloc as a whole, are there other, more effective ways to rein in a leader whom is viewed as out of line? Then we zoom in on Washington, where NATO leaders have gathered for their annual summit to celebrate the alliance's 75th anniversary and pledge continued support for Ukraine. Joining us from Washington is Stuart Lau, POLITICO's NATO correspondent. Finally, we have a conversation with José Manuel Barroso, who previously led the European Commission for 10 years. He reflects on the results of the European elections and offers advice to Ursula von der Leyen and other European leaders on what can be done to boost people's support for EU integration. Further reading and listening: French election shocker: reaction and analysis, by Nicholas Vinocur, Marion Solletty and our Paris team EU fumes at rogue Orbán, but struggles to rein him in, by Barbara Moens Orbán parrots Putin’s lines on Ukraine in leaked letter to EU chief, by Csongor Körömi and Barbara Moens Divided, reshuffled and politically bruised: Europe’s leaders head to the NATO summit by Stuart Lau and Laura Kayali NATO backs Ukraine’s ‘irreversible path’, names China a ‘decisive enabler’ in Russia’s war, by Stuart Lau Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

Transcript

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0:00.0

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0:31.5

Victor Orban. International Man of Mystery. Brussels is trying to figure out what the heck he's doing.

0:40.3

The Hungarian Prime Minister, Victor Orban, has called on the Ukrainian president,

0:44.3

Volodymy Zelensky, to consider a ceasefire with Russia.

0:48.3

Orban was speaking during a surprise trip to Kiev.

0:50.3

Victor Orban has met with Russian President Vladimir Putin in Moscow.

0:54.7

Victor Orban's paying a surprise visit to China.

0:59.0

He's visiting these hotspots, he says, as part of a peace mission that he has assigned to

1:04.4

himself.

1:05.7

We're used to Orban marching to his own beat, but here's the thing.

1:09.7

Hungary is currently holding the rotating presidency

1:12.3

of the Council of the EU. And on his mission, it was kind of hard to tell if he was just representing

1:18.7

Budapest, or the whole European Union. So it seems the Hungarian prime minister didn't have any

1:26.1

more sway with Putin than he did with Zelensky.

1:28.6

The evidence was swift. Russia bombed a children's hospital in Kiev, soon after Orban left Moscow.

1:35.8

It turns out the main place Orban's shuttle diplomacy is having an impact just might be Brussels.

1:42.0

Diplomats and leaders have gone from shock to fury about the optics of this

1:46.0

rogue peace mission. But beyond some private sniping by diplomats and public tweets clarifying that

...

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