Republican presidential nominee Donald Trump will quickly demand that Ukraine hold peace talks with Russia if he is reelected, the Financial Times (FT) reported on July 16, citing a private letter that Hungarian Prime Minister Viktor Orban wrote to EU leaders.
It was not the first time that Orban has restated what he claims are Trump's political positions regarding Ukraine. In March, Orban asserted that Trump would "not give a penny into the Ukraine-Russia war" if elected again.
The letter follows a recent series of high-level meetings with Russian President Vladimir Putin, Chinese President Xi Jinping, President Volodymyr Zelensky, and Trump in what Orban deemed a "peace mission."
"We can expect no peace initiative coming from (Trump) until the elections," Orban wrote in his letter.
"I can however surely state that shortly after his election victory, he will not wait until his inauguration, but will be ready to act as a peace broker immediately."
Orban claimed that Trump "has detailed and well-founded plans for (a peace plan)."
In light of the recent meetings, Orban also said there was a "general observation" that "the intensity of the military conflict will radically escalate in the near future."
The FT said that representatives of Trump and Orban did not respond to requests for comment on the letter.
The alleged peace proposal aligns with Trump's public statements about his policy toward Ukraine and a plan formulated by top Trump advisors, in which the U.S. would halt military aid unless Ukraine agreed to hold peace talks.
The previous day, Trump announced that he had chosen Senator J.D. Vance, an outspoken opponent of aid for Ukraine, as his running mate.
Orban has a long-standing relationship with conservatives in the U.S. and is the only European leader who is openly friendly toward the Kremlin. He has spoken highly of Trump on several occasions since the beginning of Russia's full-scale invasion, praising him as "a man of peace."
Owen Racer
(Updated: )
