‘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.
During an 11 August press conference at the White House, Donald Trump said he had sought advice from Hungary’s Prime Minister Viktor Orbán on whether Ukraine can defeat Russia, calling the insight ‘very interesting’. Trump is set to meet Vladimir Putin in Alaska on Friday to discuss a potential peace framework for the war in Ukraine.
Rezső Erdélyi, analyst for the Hungarian Nézőpont Institute, has stated during his appearance on Hungarian public radio that the proposed meeting between US President Donald Trump and President Vladimir Putin of Russia is a great sign of progress in peace negotiations, and that ‘the US President has achieved more in ending the Russo–Ukrainian war than the European Union has done in many years.’
As the deadline for sweeping sanctions on Russian oil buyers looms, President Trump is preparing to meet Vladimir Putin face-to-face. The summit is widely viewed as a final diplomatic window to prevent further escalation and avert a global economic shock. For Trump, the meeting may also serve as a moment of redemption—an opportunity to rewrite the legacy of the ill-fated Helsinki Summit in 2018.
As the proposed meeting in Istanbul between Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy and Russian President Vladimir Putin remains in limbo, Pope Leo XIV appears to have offered the Holy See’s mediation to the warring parties. The negotiations have gained new momentum as international pressure mounts on Russia to agree on a ceasefire.
Russian President Vladimir Putin has announced another temporary ceasefire in the war in Ukraine, this time to mark Victory Day—the defeat of Nazi Germany in the Second World War. The truce will last for three days, from 8 May until midnight on 11 May.
US President Donald Trump was among the first world leaders to announce that he will attend the funeral of the late Pope Francis on Saturday. Russian President Vladimir Putin, however, will not be present, and despite his close relationship with the pontiff, Hungarian Prime Minister Viktor Orbán will also skip the ceremony.
Russian President Vladimir Putin declared a temporary ceasefire in the war in Ukraine on 19 April, halting hostilities from 6 pm on Saturday until midnight on Monday. The move—met with scepticism in Kyiv—came as US President Donald Trump expressed frustration with stalled peace talks and signalled that Washington could walk away from mediating between Kyiv and Moscow.