Josep Borrell, the European Union’s top foreign policy official, has taken a step to effectively boycott Hungary’s rotating presidency of the EU in response to Hungarian Prime Minister Viktor Orban’s recent efforts to pursue peace in Ukraine.
Hungary was scheduled to host a meeting of EU foreign ministers in August but Borrell said the meeting will now be held in Brussels. “We have to send a signal, even if it is a symbolic signal,” he said.
EU officials have been fuming over Orban’s recent trips to Moscow and Beijing to discuss the prospect of peace in Ukraine, which came after he met with Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky.
Borrell and other officials took particular offense at Orban labeling the EU’s policies toward Ukraine “pro-war.” Most European and NATO countries have discouraged the idea of peace talks and favor sending more weapons into the conflict zone. “If you want to talk about the war party, talk about Putin,” Borrell said.
Amid Orban’s push for peace, there are signs that Zelensky is reconsidering his policy of not negotiating with Russia. He recently suggested that Russian officials should attend the next international summit on the war that he is organizing.
Photo: Hungary's Prime Minister Viktor Orban and Russia's President Vladimir Putin arrive for a press conference following their meeting in Moscow, Russia July 5, 2024 © Reuters / Evgenia Novozhenina / File Photo.
Source: AntiWar.
