Why Hungary can become a mediator in the negotiations: political scientist’s explanation
12 December 14:04
Hungarian Prime Minister Viktor Orban spoke for an hour on the phone with Russian President Vladimir Putin yesterday. Judging by Orban’s entry in X, Hungary is claiming to be a mediator in possible future negotiations to suspend the war between Ukraine and Russia.
“This morning I had an hour-long phone conversation with President Putin. These are the most dangerous weeks of the war between Russia and Ukraine. We are taking all possible diplomatic steps to argue for a ceasefire and peace talks,”
– orban wrote.
Commenting on the situation in an exclusive commentary for , political analyst Volodymyr Tsybulko notes that the issue of Hungary’s participation in these talks has been discussed before.
“This topic arose about six months ago. It was taken into account that both China and Hungary have direct access to Putin,”
– the expert said.
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Tsybulko emphasizes that the main factor justifying such a role for Hungary is Orban’s direct access to Vladimir Putin.
“There is a certain history of communication and a certain dependence on China in Russia. Hungary is the third corner of the Russian-Chinese-Hungarian triangle, but it is also a member of the EU and NATO. It is simply difficult to find another country from the list of NATO members that could communicate directly with Putin,”
– explains the political scientist.
Hungary is a kind of proxy for China in Europe, as the two countries have recently established very deep cooperation.
“China has plans for Hungary, because today it is, in fact, a Chinese bridgehead in the European Union. Therefore, the tie between China and Hungary looks more like a tie between the most interested parties,”
– says Tsybulko.
Given the political context and geostrategic interests, China and Hungary can form a strong tandem to influence Russia to break Putin and improve their position in the international arena. According to Tsybulko, this will allow China not only to strengthen its position in Europe, but also to minimize the risks for Chinese business in the context of worsening trade relations with the EU.
“The European Union is beginning to organize all kinds of protective measures against Chinese products, and here China needs to show some kind of success in order not to lose the European market politically,”
– concludes Volodymyr Tsybulko.
