2024-07-08 11:59:40
In a photo posted by the nationalist leader on the X social network, it can be seen that V. Orbán was met at the airport by Chinese Foreign Ministry representative Hua Chunying.
He arrived in Beijing after making surprise visits to Russia and Ukraine last week after Hungary took over the rotating presidency of the European Union in early July.
V. Orban, who maintains the friendliest relations with Moscow of all EU leaders, spoke with President Vladimir Putin on Friday about the war in Ukraine. Meanwhile, his visit was criticized by both Kyiv and the EU, which said that it threatens the position of the bloc of countries in relation to the conflict in Ukraine.
China’s foreign ministry issued a brief statement saying the Hungarian leader would meet with President Xi Jinping on Monday to “in-depth exchange views on issues of mutual interest.”
They discussed the war in Ukraine
V. Orban stated that the purpose of his meeting with Chinese leader Xi Jinping in Beijing was to discuss ways to end the war between Russia and Ukraine. He announced this on the social media site X.
“China is a major power that can create conditions for peace in the war between Russia and Ukraine. That’s why I came to meet President Xi in Beijing, just two months after his official visit to Budapest,” he wrote.
Orban did not provide any other details about the meeting with Xi Jinping or the results of their talks.
The Hungarian prime minister signed his post with the hashtags of Hungary’s EU presidency #HU24EU and the peace mission #peacemission, suggesting he was acting on behalf of the European Union.
However, the EU leadership has repeatedly emphasized that V. Orbán is not authorized to act on behalf of the European Union and that his trips to Kiev, Moscow and Beijing, ostensibly with a mission to find ways to end the war between Russia and Ukraine, are bilateral contacts between Hungary and the respective countries.
The Chinese side has not yet disclosed the content of Xi Jinping’s talks with Orban, but local media reported that they met on Monday morning.
2024-07-08 11:59:40