Zelenskiy says Hungary's Orban cannot be mediator in Ukraine war

9/7/2024 7:21

        President Volodymyr Zelenskiy said on Monday Hungarian Prime Minister Viktor Orban could not mediate between Russia and Ukraine to end the 28-month war, a task he said could only be undertaken by world powers such as China, the U.S. or EU.
        
        Orban visited Kyiv and Moscow for talks last week and met Chinese President Xi Jinping on Monday, describing his unexpected trip to Beijing as the third-leg of a "peace mission".
        
        As world leaders prepare to head to a NATO summit which starts on Tuesday in Washington, Ukraine's Zelenskiy said only powerful economies or countries with armed forces much stronger than Russia's could manage the task of mediation.
        
        Zelenskiy said Orban's negotiations with Putin, which provoked a rebuke within the European Union, had not been coordinated with Kyiv.