Our Planet Climate and Geopolitics
Yesterday, Hungary’s prime minister Viktor Orbán arrived in Kyiv on an unannounced visit – his first trip to the country since 2015 – a day after Hungary began its six-month presidency of the European Council. Orbán has been the strongest opponent of Ukraine joining the EU and sending Kyiv EU funds and weapons; in Kyiv he proposed an immediate ceasefire followed by peace talks. But he added that he accepted Ukraine’s arguments as well. Orbán also emphasised that Hungary intends to help Ukraine during its rotating presidency “in everything we can”, and supported a proposal to open a Ukrainian school in Hungary to support the large number of Ukrainian refugees. It’s a welcome improvement in relations: Orbán has repeatedly accused Ukraine’s government of infringing on the rights of up to 150,000 ethnic Hungarians residing in the Transcarpathia region of western Ukraine. But to note: while Orbán was in Ukraine, his foreign minister was on a call with his counterpart in Moscow.
