EU countries want to boycott summit in Hungary to punish Orbán – Politico
The foreign ministers of the countries of the European Union intend to organize their own summit, ignoring the event that will be held in August in Budapest, reported Politico with reference to unnamed sources among European officials.
Hungary, which presides over the EU Council, plans to hold a foreign affairs summit in Budapest on August 28-29. But after the Prime Minister of the country, Viktor Orbán, obstructed the provision of aid to Ukraine and arbitrarily met with Russian dictator Vladimir Putin and Chinese leader Xi Jinping, many EU foreign ministers are looking for a way to boycott the event.
According to three interlocutors of the publication, the EU's top representative for foreign policy, Josep Borrell, will convene the ministers for a "formal" foreign affairs council at the same time as the summit in Budapest.
"If there’s a formal foreign affairs council, organized by the high representative [Borrell] the same day, the ministers won’t be able to go to Budapest," said one European diplomat.
Another source noted that by boycotting the meeting in Budapest, other foreign ministers wanted to "send a clear signal that Hungary does not speak for the EU."
Politico reports that the plan has already been informally discussed with several EU countries, including France and Germany. On July 17, Borrell's team will present the plan to the EU's 27 permanent representatives.
On July 2, the Hungarian Prime Minister visited Kyiv and met with President Volodymyr Zelenskyy: Orbán proposed a ceasefire for further negotiations.
On July 5, Orbán went to Moscow to see Putin. After that, the Ukrainian president rejected the possibility of Hungary's mediation.
On July 8, Orbán visited China where he met with the country's president, Xi Jinping. According to Orbán, China is "a key force in creating conditions for peace in the Russo-Ukrainian war."
After meeting with Erdogan on the sidelines of the NATO summit, Orbán said that Turkiye is "indispensable in the peace process."
On July 12, he met with Trump, who again promised to "solve the problem."