Surprising alliance of Donald Trump, Viktor Orban and Pope Francis that could derail support for Ukraine
Story by David Maddox 1 week ago
A surprising trinity of Donald Trump, Hungary’s right-wing prime minister Viktor Orban and Pope Francis could spell the end to hopes for continued support for Ukraine in fighting the war against Vladimir Putin’s Russia. The Independent has spoken toHungary’s ambassador to the Vatican, Eduard Habsburg-Lothringen, who has been critical in attempting to create an international coalition to find a “peace deal” to end the war.
He has spoken about howPope Francis has played an important role in supporting a dealthat will probably see Mr Trump push for Ukrainian president Volodymyr Zelensky to cede territory to Russia. (Zelensky hates the Pope)
It comes as Sir Keir Starmer held talks in Paris with French president Emmanuel Macron on Monday. Ukraine and the need for a European security pact as part of a post-Brexit reset was at the top of the agenda asthe leaders vowed to ensure support for Kyiv continued.
Earlier, defence secretaryJohn Healey defiantly rejected claimsthe US president-elect will reverse the current Ukraine policy. He toldSky News: “I don’t expect the US to turn away from Nato. They recognise the importance of the alliance. They recognise the importance of avoiding further conflict in Europe.”
The Pope, along with Hungary, has called for a ceasefire and talks “to break the cycle” of war and achieve peace. Mr Orban is seen as being the closest EU leader to Mr Putin, even visiting Moscow over the summer, while he has also been against providing Kyiv with weapons and funds.
Last week at the European Political Community summit,Mr Orban boasted of how “the world is changing” with Mr Trump re-elected, while renewing his demands for a Ukrainian ceasefire. (Bet they didn't like that. Kek)
The clash with Mr Zelensky, who was at the summit, saw the Ukrainian leader note that theHungarian prime minister is the one Nato member state leader to oppose Ukraine’s membership of the defence alliance.
Having made several trips to visit Mr Trump at his home in Mar-a-Lago,Mr Orbanhas gone from being mostly internationally isolated on the war to nowbeing the closest ally to the president-elect in Europe.Speaking to The Independent, Mr Habsburg-Lothringen said: “During Donald Trump’s first presidency, Hungarian-American political relations were at their peak, with dialogue and negotiations taking centre stage in resolving conflicts that threaten world security.
“Following the decision of the American electorate a few days ago,we really have good hope that Hungarian-American political cooperation will return to its peak: we share similar views on peace, illegal immigration and the protection of families. I believe there is a better chance than ever that peace will finally return to Ukraine after almost a thousand days of war.”
The Pope recently made a visit to Hungary and has told Mr Habsburg-Lothringen that his affinity to the eastern European country. Now, with their shared view of bringing an early end to the war, he believes the Pope will support a peace deal opposed by all the other Western allies in Nato.
“With the new President Trump, we have an ally who has clearly stated, even in his speech during election night, that he wanted to end the wars, which also means the one in Ukraine.This fills me with hope.”
He added:“You can say a lot of things about Donald Trump, you may even dislike him, but there is one thing that nobody questions: that he will not start a war. I see him as a man who hates war, and as a real businessman who thinks that everything will be better if there is no war.”
In a previous interview with The Independent, the ambassador outlined what Hungary and the Vatican’s position has been on talks.
“As long as nobody talks with Russia, a real dialogue doesn’t happen. The Vatican strongly encourages a climate of talking everybody to everybody, and I believe that this would be the step forward. That’s as I said, before Pope Francis and Viktor Orban both asked for immediate ceasefire and immediate peace negotiations.”
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