Orbán said in a video interview to conservative Swiss daily Weltwoche on Wednesday that during the talks, he had aimed to leave behind “the not too flourishing ties” of recent times between the two countries, and concentrate on the future. He said he had talked about the large Hungarian community in Ukraine, and suggested that Ukraine put forward an action plan that would be beneficial for Ukraine’s negotiations in the EU accession process as well as for the Hungarian minority.
Orbán said he had not tried to “convince” Zelensky, nor had he made proposals. He said he had aimed to clarify Zelensky’s “position and limits when we speak about peace”. Orbán said that as the head of the country holding the European presidency, he was planning to prepare a report on “the possibility of peace” for the European Council. He therefore asked Zelensky to first start a ceasefire to speed up negotiations, he said. Orbán said Zelensky “was not very happy with the idea … but he understood Hungary’s position”.