Hungarian Prime Minister Viktor Orbán called for a cease-fire between Ukraine and Russia as he accused the U.S. of fueling the war and said former President Trump offers the best “hope for peace.”
Speaking at a forum in Berlin hosted by news outlet Berliner Zeitung and Cicero Magazine, Orbán, who has close ties to Russian President Vladimir Putin, said any cease-fire in the war must be negotiated between the U.S. and Russia.
“It would be better if the public didn’t hear what I’m saying now,” the Hungarian leader said, according to Cicero Magazine. “The cease-fire does not have to be between Russia and Ukraine but between Russia and the USA.”
Orbán made clear he was on the side of Ukraine because Russia violated international law, but he urged an immediate cease-fire, saying, “Otherwise tens of thousands will die and the war will be carried to Europe.”
“I belong to the peace camp, so I am for an immediate cease-fire, no matter what the Ukrainians think of it,” he said. “That distinguishes me from those who want to derive decisions from Ukrainian interests.”
The Hungarian prime minister, a darling of conservatives in the U.S. who appeared at the Conservative Political Action Conference over the summer in Texas, also argued that President Biden has escalated tensions with Moscow while appearing to back Trump’s efforts to de-escalate.
“That’s why Joe Biden went too far with his comments about Putin,” Orbán said, per Cicero Magazine. “The hope for peace is Donald Trump.”
Trump has used his political prestige to slam Biden’s handling of the war in public appearances and on Truth Social, including at an Arizona rally over the weekend.
“We must demand the immediate negotiation of the peaceful end to the war in Ukraine, or we will end up in World War III and there will be nothing left of our planet all because stupid people didn’t have a clue,” Trump said. “They really don’t understand … what they’re dealing with. The power of nuclear. They have no idea what they’re doing.”
Trump has offered few suggestions for what the U.S. should do to end the war in Ukraine other than calling for a cease-fire and posting that he would “head up” a group on negotiations.
Biden, meanwhile, warned of “Armageddon” after Putin threatened he could deploy nuclear weapons amid humiliating setbacks for Russia in the war and domestic disturbances at home.
American public support for Ukraine remains high, and Congress has provided billions of dollars to the nation in security and financial aid.