Zelensky criticises unilateral moves in EU, citing Orbán’s visit to Moscow

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It encourages us to stop taking into account those who want to visit “the capital of war” behind the back of the European Union

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Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky on Thursday criticised unilateral moves within the European Union regarding the war in Ukraine, veiled criticism of Hungarian Prime Minister Viktor Orbán’s visit to Moscow to meet Russian President Vladimir Putin behind the bloc’s back.

“We have maintained unity in Europe and acted together, which means that Putin has not achieved his main goal: he has not succeeded in dividing Europe,” said the Ukrainian president during his speech at the summit of the European Political Community, held on Thursday in the British city of Woodstock.

However, the Ukrainian president has warned that his Russian counterpart may try to approach “some” of the EU partners individually, “trying to tempt or pressure them, to blackmail them so that one betrays the rest” in order to “weaken” the community bloc, according to a statement from the Ukrainian Presidency.

“If someone in Europe is trying to solve the problem behind the backs, or even at the expense, of others, if someone wants to make a few trips to the war capital to talk and maybe promise something against our common interests (…) why should we pay attention to such a person?” Zelensky asked.

In this way, he has encouraged the partners of the European Union and even NATO to “solve all their problems without this person”, alluding indirectly to Orban and his controversial visit to Moscow, which has already earned him criticism from Brussels, which even proposes boycotting his rotating presidency of the EU Council.

At the beginning of the week, European Commission President Ursula von der Leyen herself joined the boycott of some European governments and announced that she will not send commissioners to the informal meetings that Hungary will hold on its territory during the six-month presidency of the EU Council.

Already in an ambassadorial discussion last week, all member states except Slovakia reprimanded the Hungarian government for the ambiguous way in which its prime minister travelled without having a mandate to speak on behalf of the Union.

They accused Orbán of damaging the unity of the bloc and violating the treaties by making a surprise trip to Moscow to meet Russian President Vladimir Putin without coordination with the rest of the European leaders, in an analysis that is also supported by the Council’s legal services.

ABOUT RUSSIAN MISSILES

The president also urged Western leaders to shoot down missiles and drones launched by Russia over Ukraine, alluding to Iran’s massive attack on Israel in early April, according to the Ukrainian presidency.

“A collective will is needed to shoot them down, just as it was the case with Iranian missiles and drones,” Zelensky said, insisting that the United Kingdom, France, Germany and Poland should take these steps, since the courage of these countries “can be decisive for peace.”

The Israeli military said Iran launched as many as 170 drones, 30 cruise missiles and 120 ballistic missiles in April — “99 percent” of which were intercepted by Israeli defense systems — in response to the bombing of its consulate in Damascus earlier this month.