The European Union counts for nothing. Donald Trump is wrong about Putin, I will go to him to get him to lift the sanctions on Russia”. This was stated by Hungarian Prime Minister Viktor Orban in a conversation with Repubblica on the sidelines of his visit to Rome. “We have outsourced the possibility of resolving the war to the Americans and the Russians. Unfortunately, we don’t have a role. Europe is totally out of the picture,” said Orban, explaining that “I will soon be with Trump to resolve the problem of oil sanctions.”
On the meeting with Meloni, he explains that “the important point is the future of the European economy, because very little remains to be done about the war”.
Orban was received in audience by Pope Leo in the Vatican, where he then met Cardinal Pietro Parolin, Secretary of State.
“During the cordial conversation in the Secretariat of State, the solid bilateral relations and the appreciation were underlined – reports the Holy See – for the commitment of the Catholic Church in promoting the social development and well-being of the Hungarian community, with particular attention to the role of the family, the education and future of young people, as well as the importance of protecting the most vulnerable Christian communities. Ample space was also reserved for European issues, with particular pay attention to the conflict in Ukraine, and the situation in the Middle East”.
“The world is slowly getting used to wars. Over the past two decades, military conflicts have flared up one after another all over the world: from the Caucasus to the Middle East, and now the Russian-Ukrainian war that has been raging for three years. News and images of destruction and war casualties rain down on us. At first we are shocked, then saddened, and finally we begin to get used to it. But as the world gets used to the wars, these become more and more dangerous, like a fire on a scorching summer day. If we do nothing, sooner or later the flames will reach our country, our homes and the future of our children. If we want to preserve peace in Hungary, we cannot swim with the mainstream current in Brussels,” the Hungarian prime minister wrote on Facebook before the meeting.
“We want to stay out of the war fever that is spreading throughout the world. That is why since the outbreak of the Russian-Ukrainian war, we have built an anti-war coalition” he adds, specifying that today he will report “to the Holy Father and, later, to the Italian prime minister on the efforts made by Hungary”.
Orban was also received by the Grand Master of the Sovereign Military Order of Malta Fra’ John Dunlap, in the Magistral Villa on the Aventine Hill. Before being received by the Grand Master, Orbán was shown one of the unmissable points of the villa overlooking the Aventine hill, the ‘keyhole’ in the large green door that leads to the gardens of the headquarters of the Knights of Malta.
“During the meeting – reads a note – an exchange of views was shared on the prospects for peace in Ukraine and on the application of the ceasefire agreement in Gaza. In particular, the role of the Order in Hungary was recalled, where since 2022 it has provided support to over 52,000 Ukrainian refugees through medical assistance and integration programmes. The meeting confirmed the excellent state of relations between Hungary and the Order, with diplomatic relations dating back to 1990 and intense collaboration in the humanitarian field. Orban expressed full support and great appreciation for the activities of the Association and the Order’s Hungarian rescue service, the largest social institution in the country, capable of assisting on average 13,000 people in almost 150 institutions every day. As already emerged in the meeting between the Grand Master and Orbán in Buda in 2024, the desire to mutual to further strengthen cooperation in the social field. In fact, possibilities of collaboration have also been discussed in third countries, with the Hungarian government’s aid program ‘Hungary Helps’.
In this context, the renewal of the Memorandum of Understanding, signed in September 2024, was recalled, which “consolidates collaboration in support of Christians and other persecuted religious and ethnic minorities”, we read in a note. Finally, the Grand Master expressed gratitude to the Hungarian authorities for their constant support of the Order’s programs which, in Hungary and around the world, work for the protection of human dignity and the promotion of social inclusion.