Hungarian Foreign Minister Péter Szijjártó and Slovak Prime Minister Robert Fico have travelled to Beijing to attend China’s 3 September World War II victory parade, where they will be the only EU representatives alongside leaders such as Vladimir Putin and Kim Jong Un. Szijjártó stressed Hungary’s interest in ‘civilized East–West cooperation’ and in deepening Chinese investment ties.
Bryan Leib, Senior Fellow at the Center for Fundamental Rights, has recently posted to X, advocating that the proposed trilateral meeting between US President Donald Trump, President Volodymyr Zelenskyy of Ukraine, and President Putin of Russia should take place in Budapest, Hungary.
Péter Szijjártó said on Thursday that Hungary is ready to host potential Putin–Zelenskyy talks to end the war in Ukraine. With Trump’s administration eyeing Budapest as a possible location, the city has emerged as a strong contender—but also a divisive one, drawing a sharp rebuke from Polish Prime Minister Donald Tusk, who warned against repeating past failures.
A historic Putin–Zelenskyy summit may soon take place in Hungary, US officials confirmed after Trump’s White House meeting with Zelenskyy and EU leaders. The summit, to be followed by a trilateral session with Trump, could mark a breakthrough in efforts to end the war.
‘Closing the press conference, President Putin addressed Donald Trump in English and invited the American leader to meet “next time in Moscow”. It is an extremely rare occasion to hear the Russian President speaking in English.’
Following their Alaska meeting, Trump and Putin said they had reached an agreement to be presented to Ukraine and NATO. Putin called it a step toward securing Ukraine’s safety, while Trump admitted significant points still need to be negotiated.
Trump and Putin’s Alaska summit aims to test the waters for a Ukraine ceasefire, with Russia pressing its advantage after fresh territorial gains. The US holds secondary tariff threats over Moscow, while the EU and Kyiv fight to keep their voice in any deal.
‘Bismarck’s campaign for a “good treaty” with Russia reflected the notion that antagonizing the Russians could be as disastrous as waking a bear from hibernation—an apt metaphor for what the U.S.–NATO expansionist approach eventually did…Bismarck emphasized the urgency of not only respecting Russia’s interests but also recognizing it as a crucial player on the global political stage…’
European leaders’ obsession with the Munich analogy ahead of the Trump–Putin summit is turning history into a political crutch. Leaders warn of appeasement, yet ignore the radically different context of today’s war, risking self-imposed irrelevance in peace talks and handing strategic advantage to Washington and Moscow.
Hungarian Prime Minister Viktor Orbán vetoed an EU joint statement on the upcoming Trump–Putin summit in Alaska, breaking with the bloc’s 26 other members. While they welcomed Trump’s peace efforts, Orbán argued the EU should not set conditions for talks it was not invited to, urging instead an EU–Russia summit to ensure Europe’s voice in the process.