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The Portuguese Minister of Foreign Affairs emphasized today the importance of dialogue to achieve a ceasefire in Ukraine, considering, however, that it is “a bit strange” to hold a meeting between Donald Trump and Vladimir Putin in Budapest.
“It is a bit strange that this is being done on European Union (EU) territory, but Hungary has its position, which is known, so this is not really a surprise,” said Paulo Rangel, at the end of a ministerial meeting in Luxembourg.
Despite the location pointed out for the future meeting between the presidents of the United States and Russia, the head of Portuguese diplomacy considered that any “dialogue aimed at reaching peace agreements or ceasefires is always welcome.”
“Being on European and EU territory, that also has a meaning, but Hungary is a sovereign country and can host this type of negotiations (…), I think it is important to have dialogue, the prospects at this moment are still not the most encouraging,” the official stated.
The Hungarian government is known for its conciliatory policies towards Russia and for its severe criticism of the Ukrainian leader, Volodymyr Zelensky, contrary to the majority position of the EU.
Regarding the hypothesis raised by the American leader, Donald Trump, to freeze the conflict as it is, that is, to allow Russia to keep the territory it occupied in Ukraine for now, Paulo Rangel called for restraint instead of premature assessments.
“We have to be restrained; if we start commenting on every change, every statement, we will not help these negotiations take place,” he commented, adding that “the positions of Portugal and the European Union are well known.”
“From Portugal’s point of view,” argued Paulo Rangel, reaching a ceasefire as soon as possible “would be the most important,” even more so than the “definition of the conflict, because the parties [Ukraine and Russia] are very far apart on that.”
Last Thursday, the American President announced that he would meet with his Russian counterpart in Budapest, without indicating a date, at the end of a phone conversation between them, in which he assured that “great progress” had been made.
Trump made this announcement on the eve of a meeting at the White House with the Ukrainian counterpart, Volodymyr Zelensky.
There is an arrest warrant issued by the International Criminal Court against Vladimir Putin, and Hungary is one of the countries that signed the Rome Statute, the founding document of the international judicial body.
This statute states, among other points, that any signatory country must carry out the arrests issued if the targeted person enters the territory of the countries that are part of the organization.
In statements this morning in Luxembourg, the EU High Representative for Foreign Affairs and Security Policy, Kaja Kallas, stated that the prospect of this meeting in Budapest “is not good.”