Hungarian Prime Minister Viktor Orbán, a staunch supporter of Trump and considered to be Russian President Vladimir Putin’s closest ally in Europe, refused to endorse part of the summit statement in favor of Ukraine and claims that it is the European Union who isolated itself,
As a result, Orban could not be blackmailed, and he remained firm in his pro-peace stance at the EU summit, using his veto. Hungary did not support the EU sending more money and weapons to the war, which is why the other 26 member states could only adopt the proposal as a statement rather than a binding resolution.
Hungary remains steadfast for peace, the prime minister said following the EU summit. Viktor Orban announced that he would block the Ukraine aid package, a move which could save all of Europe by preventing the continuation of the war. And for this, the entire EU is furious.
His position has given the former Warsaw Pact nation — which has a population only slightly larger than New Jersey — an outsized role in European diplomacy.
French President Emmanuel Macron on Wednesday welcomed Hungarian Prime Minister Viktor Orban for talks at the Elysee Palace.