The EU reaffirms Ukraine’s role in negotiations and warns Russia in a message without Hungary

Brussels – The governments of 26 of the 27 member countries of the European Union have signed, excluding Hungary, a message in which they support the peace initiative of the President of the United States, Donald Trump, but also warn that it is the Ukrainians who have “the right to choose their own destiny” and advocate for sanctions against Russia.

The majority of leaders of the European Council advocate in this note for “a just and lasting peace,” under the premise that any future agreement must respect “the principles of independence, sovereignty, territorial integrity” and the fact that “international borders cannot be changed by force,” in a clear allusion to the Russian invasion.

Trump hinted last week at the possibility of a territorial exchange between the parties, on the eve of a meeting with his Russian counterpart, Vladimir Putin, which European leaders have not directly referred to in the statement released this Tuesday.

“The people of Ukraine must have the freedom to decide their future. The path to peace in Ukraine cannot be decided without Ukraine,” they warn, also emphasizing that a ceasefire is essential for any progress in this regard.

One of the clearest political horizons for Ukraine is integration into the European Union, something that the 26 signing governments emphasize they will “continue to support,” despite the reluctance shown in recent months by Hungarian Prime Minister Viktor Orbán, who believes that accession would jeopardize the stability of the bloc.

Until then, the EU “will continue to provide political, financial, economic, humanitarian, and diplomatic support” for Ukraine to exercise “its right to defend itself” against aggression, just as it “will continue to comply with and impose restrictive measures against the Russian Federation,” a policy that Orbán also disapproves of.

“A Ukraine capable of effectively defending itself is an integral part of future security guarantees,” European leaders emphasize, acknowledging and “respecting” the policies that “some” member states may adopt in this area.

ORBÁN JUSTIFIES HIMSELF

The Prime Minister of Hungary has warned the other partners of the European Union about the risk of “giving instructions from the sidelines” for the upcoming summit between Trump and Putin, in a message with which he has sought to get ahead of the “liberal chorus” that, in his own words, will start saying that he is “Putin’s puppet.”

Thus, he believes it is necessary to clarify the reasons why he has not joined the consensus, among them that “the declaration attempts to set the conditions for a meeting to which EU leaders are not invited.” “The fact that the EU has been sidelined is already sad enough in itself. The only thing that could make it worse is if we start giving instructions from the sidelines,” claims the Hungarian Prime Minister in a message on social media.

For Orbán, “the only sensible thing” that European leaders can do now is to start organizing their own summit with Putin, taking the meeting initiated by the White House as an “example.” The Hungarian leader already caused controversy in July 2024 by traveling to Moscow to meet with the President of Russia, in a gesture that also coincided with the start of the Hungarian presidency semester in the EU Council. (August 12)