Judging from his statement, Orban's visit to Ukraine is like a chicken-and-duck talk.
Orban himself made it clear that he was going to persuade peace talks, and put forward the hope that Ukraine and Russia would reach a ceasefire first, and then negotiate, which would be more effective.
"I told Zelensky that his initiative will take a lot of time because of the rules of international diplomacy," Orban said on Tuesday. He added that he asked Zelensky to "consider whether it is possible to act in a slightly different way - a ceasefire, and then negotiate with Russia, because a ceasefire will speed up the pace of these negotiations." ”
Previously, Zelensky's attitude has always been that Russia will completely withdraw its troops first, and then a ceasefire and peace talks will be possible.
Regarding Orban's proposal, Zelensky did not follow up at all, and did not mention anything about a ceasefire in his entire statement. He simply talked about bilateral relations between Ukraine and Hungary, discussing "trade, cross-border cooperation, infrastructure and energy", as well as the "humanitarian sphere."
No matter how hard Zelensky is, the body is always honest, and the attitude and message it sends are much clearer.
It is no secret that Orban is the leader of the entire European Union today who is most opposed to military and economic assistance to Ukraine. He has repeatedly vetoed the EU's aid package for Ukraine, and also did not agree with the EU's acceptance of Ukraine's accession negotiations. In the end, the EU had to deliberately allow Orban to avoid voting, and finally the EU was able to open Ukraine's application to join the EU.
In addition, Orban is also a leader who openly supports President Putin. These are in the eyes of Ukrainians and Zelensky, making Orban a thorn in their side.
But the situation has reached this point, and Zelensky has to give in, have to compromise, and build a person he absolutely did not want to meet.
Of course, Hungary currently holds the rotating presidency of the European Union. It also gives Ukraine a reason to host Orban with a reason to convince itself and others. But if Zelensky really doesn't want to see it, he doesn't have to accept such a weighty reason at all.
So in the end, the situation has come to this, and Zelensky has to fight for all the intermediate forces that have the potential to provide possible bridges and mediators for Ukraine and Russia to achieve a ceasefire.
Zelensky has recently sent out such signals one after another.
Recently, Zelensky himself took the initiative to propose a plan that could allow Ukraine and Russia to conduct indirect negotiations with a third party, so as to reach an agreement by the end of this year.
At the Swiss peace summit last month, Zelensky also proposed to promote ceasefire negotiations between Russia and Ukraine by establishing a third-party alliance.
Now more than half a month has passed since the peace summit, and the situation has changed even more unfavorably for Ukraine.
Let's start with the most recent.
Ukraine's biggest father, the United States, shocked Americans with the performance of Democratic candidate Joe Biden in the first debate held last Thursday night, although Biden still refuses to withdraw from the election, he is basically hopeless for re-election. And once Trump comes to power, he will inevitably force Ukraine to negotiate with Russia, and Ukraine will have no room for maneuver at that time, but to admit it.
For this reason, Ukraine has to take precautions and find its own way out.
Then, Ukraine's second father, the European Union, the most important core country, France, is now also a far-right strong rise, winning a big victory in the first round of parliamentary elections, basically crippling Macron.
Once the far-right comes to power, populist and nationalist-oriented France will naturally not pay much attention to Ukraine.
The two biggest supporters of the United States and the European Union have turned, and then Ukraine will only be left with coolness.
The previous summit in Switzerland has also proved that on a global scale, the countries that support Ukraine, especially those who support such extreme views as Ukraine, do not account for a majority. Most countries agree that Ukraine should recognize the reality and engage in pragmatic negotiations with Russia, rather than making unrealistic demands.
In terms of weapons aided by NATO, although even the most advanced F16 fighter jets have been provided, and the United States has also relented in using weapons to attack targets on the Russian border, the battlefield has shown that Ukraine cannot save the war because of this. It shows that the general trend has gone.
In Ukraine, according to foreign media reports, Ukraine has just thwarted a coup d'état. In a telegram, the Security Service of Ukraine claimed that the alleged organizers of the coup planned to provoke a riot in Kiev on June 30 in order to distract themselves, seize control of the Ukrainian parliament and overthrow the military and political leaders.
The alleged coup leaders rented a hall with a capacity of 2,000 people and recruited military personnel and armed guards from private companies to "carry out the occupation of parliament."
The Ukrainian security services accuse Russia of orchestration. But it doesn't really matter who planned it. Importantly, the different opinions and voices in Ukraine are being translated into action. If Zelensky is not careful, he is likely to become a prisoner.
All these changes in the situation have left Ukraine with no hope of turning around. Zelensky's demands and ideas are also increasingly devoid of an audience and market internationally.
At this time, Ukraine can only hope to get more results in its favor through peace talks.
And if we want to achieve results through peace talks, we need to enlist the support of a wide range of countries that can help Ukraine negotiate. For example, Hungary here. Another example is Saudi Arabia, which Ukraine wants to hold a second peace summit. China, for example.
For this reason, Zelensky recently changed his tune and said that he never said that China is an "enemy" of Ukraine.
So Zelensky's acceptance of Orban's visit this time is a manifestation of physical honesty. Although he does not pay lip service, this is because he still has to negotiate with Russia and wait for Russia to bid first. If you agree and agree so quickly now, it seems that you are in too much of a hurry.
As for Orban's visit, the Russian side behaved much more generously.
Kremlin spokesman Dmitry Peskov said on Tuesday that the Russian government had "no expectations" for Orban's visit to Ukraine. In the commentary, reported by the state news agency TASS, he said that the visit of the Hungarian Prime Minister was about the obligations of his EU (chairman-in-office), and not the interests of Hungary.
In other words, Russia knows that Hungary is going to persuade Ukraine to accept ceasefire and peace talks, not some excuse such as "bilateral relations".
For the EU, Orban is also a very good litmus test, which is convenient for the EU to say some things that are inconvenient for the EU to say, so that Ukraine can accept reality faster and better.
Referring to Orban, Zgert Przybiska, an assistant professor at the Polish Academy of Sciences, said that "he is trying to break the political no-man's land of the European Union, and in this regard, a more open attitude towards Kiev will be key".