Zelensky said that Orban cannot be a mediator between Ukraine and Russia

President Volodymyr Zelensky said that Hungarian Prime Minister Viktor Orban cannot mediate a peaceful settlement between Ukraine and Russia.

He said this at a joint briefing with Donald Tusk in Warsaw on Monday.

"As for Prime Minister Orban. He was in Kyiv, after that he flew to Moscow. I did not know that he was flying to Moscow, it was his independent choice," the president said.

When asked whether the Hungarian prime minister could be a mediator between Ukraine and Russia, Zelensky answered that mediators can be "only serious and strong alliances, the whole world can force Russia to stop this war."

"This is not about mediation. Itʼs about opportunities. You have to have an economy that affects Russia, or Russia and Putin depend on that economy. Or you have a very powerful army, which Putin fears, which is stronger than Russiaʼs. How many such countries are there in the world? A little bit. I think that the USA is such a country, I think that China is such a country, and I think that the European Union is (not just one EU country, but the entire European Union) — it can really be such a mediation mission," said the head of state.

Zelensky added that Putin does not respect those who are weak, and even "if he meets with this or that state, it does not mean that he wants to end the war."

• On July 2, Orban came to Kyiv, where he held talks with Zelensky. It was his first visit to Ukraine since the beginning of the full-scale war. During the meeting, Orban called the war an invasion of Russia, but asked Zelensky for a ceasefire.
• Already on July 5, Orban came to Moscow and met with the leader of the Russian Federation Vladimir Putin. One of the key topics of the meeting was the Russian Federationʼs war against Ukraine and its "peaceful settlement". Orban himself called his trip a "peace mission."
• And already on July 8, Orban came to China as part of his "peace mission".