Orban may not have come to Kyiv to give Putin's view; other channels could have been used - political analyst

He said this on the Espreso TV channel.

"Orban's visit is one of the elements of shuttle democracy. It is not a fact that Orban was coming to inform Putin's position. Perhaps another channel of communication could have worked, namely Budapest's close ties with Beijing. Obviously, something was said as part of a ceasefire proposal to President Zelenskyy. It is clear that it was much more detailed than what was announced at the briefing following the meeting. And, obviously, there was some kind of response that Orban called constructive," Chalenko said.

According to the head of the Centre for Analysis and Strategies, a meeting of the Council of Heads of State of the Shanghai Cooperation Organization (SCO) will be held in Astana on July 3-4.

"I would not be surprised if Orban or someone from his inner circle is in Astana tomorrow, the day after tomorrow, where the Shanghai Cooperation Organization summit is taking place. Xi Jinping will be there, and Putin will be there. And so certain information can be transmitted," Chalenko added. 

Viktor Orban's visit to Kyiv

On Tuesday, July 2, Hungarian Prime Minister Viktor Orban arrived in the Ukrainian capital for talks with President of Ukraine Volodymyr Zelenskyy.

According to Volodymyr Zelenskyy, during the meeting with the Hungarian prime minister, they discussed trade, cross-border cooperation, infrastructure, energy and humanitarian issues.

The President also added that the content of their dialogue could become the basis for a new bilateral document between the two countries - "a document that will regulate all our relations, which will be based on a mirror approach to bilateral relations between Ukraine and Hungary and which will allow our peoples to enjoy all the benefits of unity in Europe."

During a meeting with Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy, Hungarian Prime Minister Viktor Orban suggested that they "think about a ceasefire", allegedly to speed up negotiations with Russia.