Hungary says ready to host Ukraine peace talks
Ukranian President Zelensky said on Thursday that possible venues for peace talks were Switzerland, Austria and Turkey, expressing reluctance to hold negotiations in Budapest.
FILE: Ukraine's president Volodymyr Zelensky gives a press conference on the sidelines of the European Council Summit in Brussels, Belgium, on 17 October 2024. Picture: NurPhoto via AFP
BUDAPEST - Hungary -- Moscow's and Donald Trump's closest ally in the EU -- said Thursday it was ready to host Ukraine peace talks.
Budapest has been floated as one of the locations to host the US-led bid to end the war, but relations between Ukraine and Hungarian Prime Minister Viktor Orban have been tense since he blocked Kyiv's bid to join the EU.
Hungarian Foreign Minister Peter Szijjarto said Budapest was ready to host any peace talks.
"We will provide the proper, fair and safe conditions for such peace talks," he told a pro-government show streamed on social media.
"I don't know of any European politician today, apart from Viktor Orban, who can speak equally with (US President) Donald Trump and (Russian President) Vladimir Putin," he added.
Zelensky said on Thursday that possible venues for peace talks were Switzerland, Austria and Turkey, expressing reluctance to hold negotiations in Budapest.
He also said that he had asked Trump to pressure Budapest to unblock Ukraine's accession negotiations with the EU.
Last month, the Hungarian government put up fresh posters around the country opposing Ukraine EU membership and mocking Zelensky.
Zelensky has previously said that a past deal signed in 1994 in Budapest "did not work".
Under the Budapest memorandum, Russia committed to respect Ukraine's borders in exchange for its nuclear disarmament. The deal was also signed by the United States and the United Kingdom.