TAIPEI, Taiwan (AP) 鈥 Chinese President Xi Jinping called on world powers to help Russia and Ukraine resume direct dialogue during a meeting Monday with Hungary鈥檚 Prime Minister Viktor Orb谩n, state broadcaster CCTV reported.
Orb谩n made a surprise visit to China after to Russia and Ukraine to discuss prospects for a peaceful settlement of more than the two-year war. of the European Union this month and Orb谩n has since embarked on a peace mission, which, however,
鈥淐hina is a key power in creating the conditions for peace in the Russia-Ukraine war,鈥 Orb谩n wrote on the social media platform X. 鈥淭his is why I came to meet with President Xi in Beijing, just two months after his official visit to Budapest.鈥
Orb谩n is widely seen as having the warmest relations with Xi and Russian President Vladimir Putin among European leaders. last week drew condemnation from Kyiv and EU officials, who insisted Orb谩n was not acting on behalf of the whole European bloc.
Their rebuke failed to deter Orb谩n from extending a similar visit to Beijing, which he called 鈥淧eace mission 3.0鈥 in a picture posted on X.
During his meeting with Xi, Orb谩n described China as a stabilizing force amid global turbulence and praised its 鈥渃onstructive and important鈥 peace initiatives.
China has been promoting its own six-point peace plan, which it issued with Brazil in May. Beijing says it is neutral in the conflict, though in practice it supports Moscow through frequent state visits, growing trade and joint military drills.
While hosting Orb谩n, Xi called on Russia and Ukraine to cease fire and on other major powers to create an environment conducive to talks. Only when all major powers project 鈥減ositive energy rather than negative energy鈥 can a cease-fire occur, Xi said, according to CCTV.
as part of a three-country European tour that also included stops in France and Serbia, which unlike the other two is not a member of the EU or NATO.
During the trip, China upgraded its ties with Hungary to an 鈥渁ll-weather, comprehensive strategic partnership,鈥 one of its highest designations for foreign relations that in addition to Hungary applies only to Belarus, Pakistan and Venezuela.
Hungary under Orb谩n has built substantial political and economic ties with China. The European nation hosts a number of Chinese electric vehicle battery facilities, and in December it announced that Chinese EV manufacturing giant BYD will open its in the south of the country.
The Hungarian prime minister broadly opposes Western military aid to Ukraine and has EU efforts to assist Kyiv and impose sanctions on Moscow over its invasion. Orb谩n has long argued for a cessation of hostilities in Ukraine but without outlining what that might mean for the country鈥檚 territorial integrity or future security.
That posture has frustrated Hungary鈥檚 EU and NATO allies, who have denounced Russia鈥檚 invasion as a breach of international law and a threat to the security of Eastern Europe.
鈥淲ith Europe trying to increasingly speak with one voice in its relations to China and Russia, Orb谩n鈥檚 unannounced and uncoordinated trips are not helping in signaling or creating a unified European Union with regard to EU-China relations,鈥 said Eva Seiwert, a China foreign policy and security expert with the Mercator Institute for China Studies in Berlin.
Orb谩n鈥檚 proposals for resolving the war largely correspond with Putin's interests, Seiwert added, though the Hungarian prime minister might prove helpful in organizing a peace conference in the future.
Standing alongside Orb谩n last week in Moscow, Putin declared that Russia wouldn鈥檛 accept any cease-fire or temporary break in hostilities that would allow Ukraine 鈥渢o recoup losses, regroup and rearm.鈥
Putin repeated his demand that Ukraine withdraw its troops from the four regions that Moscow claims to have annexed in 2022 as a condition for any prospective peace talks. Ukraine and its Western allies have rejected that demand, suggesting it is akin to asking Kyiv to withdraw from its own territory.
China meanwhile has spread its influence in Central Asia and Eastern Europe in recent years beyond its 鈥渘o limits鈥 partnership with Moscow. Over the weekend, China held 鈥渁nti-terror鈥 military drills with Belarus 鈥 a key ally of Russia 鈥 near the border with Poland. The drills came after last week led by China and Russia.
Orb谩n will next head to Washington, D.C., where NATO leaders are holding a summit to discuss ways to assure Ukraine of the alliance鈥檚 continued support.
鈥淣ext stop: Washington,鈥 Orb谩n posted on his social media account Monday. It was not clear whether he would meet separately with President Joe Biden, or Donald Trump, whose presidential candidacy Orb谩n openly supports.
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Associated Press writers Adam Schreck in Bangkok, Justin Spike in Budapest, Hungary, and Vladimir Isachenkov in Moscow contributed to this report.
