Ukraine’s Zelensky slams Budapest as Trump-Putin summit venue but says he would go

KYIV – Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky said Budapest wasn’t the best place for talks to end the war in Ukraine because of Hungarian Prime Minister Viktor Orban’s Russia-friendly stance, but he’d still attend if invited. 

“I do not believe that a prime minister who blocks Ukraine everywhere can do anything positive for Ukrainians or even provide a balanced contribution,” Mr Zelensky said of Mr Orban, who has repeatedly sought to stall European Union sanctions against Russia and travelled to Moscow to meet Russian President Vladimir Putin.

Still, Mr Zelensky said he’d consider an invitation to Budapest.

“If it’s an invitation in a format where the three of us meet, or, as it’s called, shuttle diplomacy, where President Trump meets with Mr Putin and President Trump meets with me – then, in one format or another, we’ll agree to it”.

US President Donald Trump announced plans to meet Mr Putin in the Hungarian capital
in the coming weeks following a phone call with the Russian President on Oct 16, less than three months after their August summit meeting at a US military base in Alaska ended with little visible progress on ending the war. 

Mr Trump hosted Mr Zelensky at the White House on Oct 17 and later urged both sides to make a deal
, telling them to “stop right now at the battle line” as he equivocated over military aid to Ukraine and the threat of new sanctions on Russia.

The US President suggested the possibility of meeting Mr Putin and Mr Zelensky separately but appeared to back away from the earlier idea that the two would meet face to face.

“We have communicated both publicly and privately that we are ready for a meeting in any format that will be effective,” Mr Zelensky told reporters in Kyiv.

“I do not consider Budapest to be the best venue for such a meeting. Obviously, if it can bring peace, it will not matter which country hosts the meeting.”

Mr Zelensky said he “devoted sufficient time to a meeting” with Mr Trump’s special envoy, Mr Steve Witkoff, to explain why Budapest wasn’t a suitable place to host the peace talks.

He said other options included Switzerland, Austria, the Vatican, Saudi Arabia, Qatar and Turkey. 

EU foreign ministers meeting in Luxembourg on Oct 20 also criticised the choice of venue for a summit.

French Foreign Minister Jean-Noel Barrot said “the presence of Vladimir Putin on EU soil only makes sense if it allows for an immediate ceasefire without conditions”.

The plan has unsettled European officials. They fear being sidelined as Mr Trump pushes to negotiate directly with Mr Putin against their advice and on their territory.

Mr Zelensky had hoped the White House talk would be a chance to ratchet up pressure on Mr Putin as he pressed the US to sell his country Tomahawk cruise missiles.

But he left Washington empty-handed, with Mr Trump backing off from the idea of arming Ukraine with weapons powerful enough to reach Moscow and targets deep into Russia.

“The perception that Russia is supposedly winning on the battlefield exists in certain circles in the United States,” Mr Zelensky said.

“It seems to me that among those who constantly promote the idea of Russia’s so-called unconditional advantages in this war is the current Prime Minister of Hungary.”

Mr Zelensky said he told Mr Trump that Budapest as a venue for talks would also be bad for his country from a historical perspective, because it’s where Ukraine agreed to give up its Soviet nuclear weapons in 1994 in return for assurances from Russia, the US and Britain to safeguard its territorial integrity. Russia broke the so-called Budapest Memorandum when it seized Crimea from Ukraine in 2014.

Still, “we have moved closer to a possible end to the war, I can tell you that for certain”, Mr Zelensky said.

“That doesn’t mean it will definitely end, but President Trump has achieved a lot in the Middle East, and riding that wave he wants to end Russia’s war against Ukraine.”

Ukraine’s President said that his government was preparing a contract for 25 Patriot air defence systems, which the country will receive “over the years, with different quantities each year. The White House can change the queue if there is political will”.

Ukraine is also working to secure gas supplies after Russia’s air strikes wiped out more than half of its domestic gas production in recent weeks.

The attacks have caused power shortages and put the country in a precarious position ahead of winter.

“We estimate that in a very difficult situation, Ukraine must be prepared to find gas worth US$2 billion (S$2.59 billion),” he said. “We have already secured part of the tranches.” BLOOMBERG