BRUSSELS. July 8 (Interfax) - China, the United States, and the European Union can have a decisive influence on settling the Ukraine conflict, Hungarian Prime Minister Viktor Orban said on Monday.
"Of course, the warring parties have the last word in the war. But three world powers have a decisive influence: China, the United States and the European Union. They also influence when this war will end," Orban said in a video address published on X.
"China is the only world power that has been clearly committed to peace from the beginning," he said.
"This is important for Hungary and for the entire European Union," Orban said.
Apart from this, Orban said Chinese President Xi Jinping told him during their meeting that he "will continue his efforts aimed at creating peace."
Earlier on Monday, Orban said that, following his talks with Xi Jinping in Beijing, he was going to travel to the U.S., without providing details of his upcoming trip.
Orban visited Kiev last Tuesday and Moscow last Friday, where he met with Russian President Vladimir Putin. The two leaders discussed options for a peaceful settlement in Ukraine and cooperation between Russia and Hungary.
Following his visits to Kiev and Moscow, Orban said in an interview with the Swiss newspaper Die Weltwoche that he would have more "surprising meetings." After his talks with Putin, Orban wrote on X that, starting July 8, he would continue his efforts towards settling the Ukraine conflict.
Hungary took over the six-month rotating presidency of the Council of the EU on July 1. As Hungary's presidency was drawing nearer, it involved numerous sharply critical comments leveled at Budapest by some EU countries and European institutions for its special attitude toward the events in Ukraine, military support for Kiev, and sanctions on Russia. Some of the most radical European Parliament members even called for depriving Hungary of the Council of the EU presidency.