Hungary cancelled a meeting planned for May 12 with a Ukrainian delegation on the rights of national minorities, Hungary's Deputy Foreign Minister said on May 11, amid a deepening spying scandal between the two countries.
Three were injured in Russia's Kursk Oblast when the town of Rylsk was allegedly struck by a missile attack on May 11, local governor Alexander Khinshtein claimed.
This week, the world watched in anticipation for Russia’s Victory Day parade after President Volodymyr Zelensky commented that he could not guarantee the safety of those attending. Meanwhile, the European Union moves one step forward to banning Russian gas from the European continent. It is also revealed this week that U.S. Secretary of Defense Pete Hegseth has fallen out of step with the White House.
"(Russian) President (Vladimir) Putin... doesn't want to have a ceasefire agreement with Ukraine, but rather wants to meet on Thursday, in Turkey, to negotiate a possible end to the bloodbath. Ukraine should agree to this, immediately," U.S. President Donald Trump said.
U.S. Secretary of State Marco Rubio will travel to to Antalya, Turkey, for a NATO foreign ministers’ meeting from May 14–16, where he is expected to address the war in Ukraine and push for stronger Allied defense commitments.
The Kremlin said the leaders held a detailed discussion about the Russian initiative and Erdogan expressed full support, reiterating Turkey’s readiness to provide a venue and assist in organizing the negotiations.
Erdogan told Macron that international cooperation is critical for initiating peace negotiations and the "sensitive implementation" of Ukraine’s recovery and reconstruction processes, the Turkish Presidency reported.
Russian President Vladimir Putin meets with Hungarian Prime Minister Viktor Orban on the sidelines of the Third Belt and Road Forum in Beijing on Oct. 17, 2023. (Photo by Grigory Sysoyev / POOL / AFP)
Hungarian Prime Minister Viktor Orban met with Russian dictator Vladimir Putin in Beijing on Oct. 17, Orban posted on Facebook.
"Today, everyone in Europe is concerned with one question: will there be a ceasefire in Ukraine," Orban captioned a photo of the meeting.
"For us Hungarians, the most important thing is that the influx of refugees, the sanctions and the conflict ends," he added.
During the meeting, Putin said he was glad that relations with many European countries, including Hungary, "are being preserved and developed."
Orban told Putin in response that his government is interested in continuing economic cooperation with Russia "as long as this is possible," according to the Kremlin.
Neither Putin nor Orban explicitly mentioned Ukraine, instead referring to the difficult "situation" in Europe.
Orban and Putin are in China's capital for the Belt and Road Forum, which starts on Oct. 17.
The two-day forum intends to highlight the successes of the Belt and Road Initiative, China's global infrastructure project that aims to connect trade and investment along what was once Silk Road routes.
Orban is the only leader from the European Union to attend the summit. Despite Hungary being a member of the EU and NATO, Orban's government has maintained ties with both Russia and China.
Within the EU, Budapest has a history of opposing international sanctions against Russia while blocking funding for Ukraine.
Orban met with Chinese leader Xi Jinping earlier on Oct. 17, while Putin is set to meet Xi on Oct. 18.
It is Putin's second trip abroad since the International Criminal Court (ICC) issued a warrant for his arrest over his role in the illegal deportation of Ukrainian children in March 2023.
Elsa Court
