After the call with Putin, Donald Trump asked Viktor Orban in terms of opposition to Ukraine's accession to the EU
Viktor Orban, received at the White House by Donald Trump, in May 2019, photo: splashnews.com / Splash / Profimedia
US President Donald Trump called Viktor Orban on Monday after discussions with Volodimir Zelenski and European leaders, to discuss why the prime minister of Hungary blocks Ukraine's accession to the European Union, according to people familiar with the situation, reports Bloomberg.
The sources claim that the call resulted from the discussions that Donald Trump had with a contingent of European leaders on Monday at the White House, where ways were analyzed in the Ukraine. At one point, they asked the US president to use their influence on the Hungarian Prime Minister to stop opposing Ukrainian candidacy.
Ukraine has sought to join the EU as part of the security guarantee package meant to prevent Russia from taking over the additional territories if an agreement for the conclusion of the war will be implemented.
During the talk with Trump, Hungary also expressed an interest in hosting a future round of discussions between the presidents of Ukraine and Russia, Volodimir Zelenski and Vladimir Putin.
After the discussions on Monday, the American leader announced on social networks that he and the Russian counterpart “started the arrangements” for a Putin-Zenski summit, to be followed by a trilateral meeting to attend the White House. The moment and location are still unclear.
Bloomberg said that the sources that provided details about the conversation between Donald Trump and Viktor Orban asked their identity to be revealed when they talk about private deliberations.
Viktor Orban, an ally of Trump, is considered by many an inspiration for the political movement of the US President, “Make America Great Again”, and was a constant ginger in the EU coast. Hungary has constantly offered Russia diplomatic coverage and protection against EU sanctions, while obstructing the help of Ukraine.
The spokesman of the Hungarian Prime Minister did not respond to Bloomberg's request to comment on the subject.
The conversation between the US President and the Hungarian Prime Minister took place after hours of discussions between Trump, Zeenski and a series of European leaders, who came to support the Ukrainian president to plead for a unitary approach to the peace process. The meeting took place three days after the Trump-Putin summit in Alaska.
Trump called Putin and Viktor Orban
In the context of Monday's discussions, Donald Trump made two separate calls. The first was with Vladimir Putin, and the second, which Bloomberg wrote for the first time now, was with Viktor Orban and produced after an additional meeting with the EU leaders, in the Oval Office of the White House.
The Prime Minister of Hungary did not confirm the conversation, and the White House press secretary, Karoline Leavitt, refused to say if Budapest is considered to host the Putin-Zenski summit. More locations are taken into account.
On Tuesday, Viktor Orban posted a message on Facebook that heard that he heard the appeal about Ukraine's accession to the EU, but does not intend to give up.
“Ukraine's belonging to the European Union does not offer any security guarantee,” he said. “Therefore, binding the belonging to security guarantees is useless and dangerous,” the Hungarian leader added.
Also on Tuesday, according to Reuters, the President of the European Council said the process of accession of Ukraine to the EU should advance.
