Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky attends the European Political Community (EPC) Summit at Blenheim Palace in Woodstock, Oxfordshire, England on July 18, 2024.
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OXFORD, England – Ukrainian President Volodymr Zelenskyy on Thursday attacked European leaders who “betrayed” Kyiv’s interests in a thin attack on Hungarian President Viktor Orban and shadow peace talks.
Zelenskyy told European leaders that Russian President Vladimir Putin has so far failed to spread discord in the region, but noted that EU member states – and the only weak link – have yet to bow to temptation or blackmail.
“He (Putin) may try to approach you or to some of your partners individually, try to tempt you or pressure you, to blackmail you so that one of you betrays the other, to destroy our unity,” he said in the introduction. European Political Community Summit at Blenheim Palace, England.
The Ukrainian leader said that individual leaders decide how to act and “what legacy to leave behind.”
However, in an apparent reference to Orban’s meeting with Putin in Moscow, he noted that those who act against the continent’s interests should not be considered part of a group problem.
“If someone in Europe tries to solve the problem behind others or even at the expense of others, if someone wants to travel to the war capital to talk and promise about our common interests – or at the expense of Ukraine and other countries – then why should we consider people like that?,” he said.
“The EU and NATO can also solve all the problems without this individual,” he said.
“Putin cannot sustain relations with really strong leaders. This is our advantage but it remains our advantage only as long as we are united,” he said.
Hungary’s foreign ministry did not immediately respond to CNBC’s request for comment on the comments.
Zelenskyy addressed the 27 member states of the European Union, as well as 20 other heads of state from the region, during the opening speech at the Summit of the European Political Community, which was established in 2022 after the Russian invasion of Ukraine.
Orban, a Putin ally, met with the Russian leader earlier this month, in a trip that drew condemnation from Europe, just days after a visit to Kyiv.
Hungary, a member of the EU and NATO, took over the presidency of the European Union earlier this year.
“The peace mission continues. Second stop: Moscow,” he said in a social media post at the time.
Speaking to CNBC on the sidelines of Thursday’s summit, Orban said he believes his job is to convince leaders to “shift from a pro-war policy to a pro-peace policy.” In separate comments to reporters, Orban said his sentiments were shared by Republican presidential candidate Donald Trump.
Recalling the Mar-a-Lago meeting last week, which at the time was called “peace mission 5.0,” the Hungarian prime minister said Trump had said he would immediately do “everything for peace” if elected in November.
He added that Trump had suggested that the “financial burden” between the US and Europe would be different if he returned to power. “We have to understand here,” Orban said before the EPC discussion.