US President Donald Trump reportedly called Hungarian Prime Minister Viktor Orbán at the behest of European leaders in a bid to convince him to support Ukraine joining the European Union.
According to Bloomberg, Trump spoke with Orbán on the phone on August 18 after discussions with European leaders on the Hungary PM’s stance against Ukrainian accession talks with the EU.
After Russia invaded Ukraine, the EU leadership made Ukrainian accession into the European bloc part of its support for the besieged country.
Hungary has strongly opposed this and has been the most critical towards Ukraine gaining EU membership.
The main reasons for this reportedly are ongoing problems experienced by the Hungarian minority in Ukraine and the high potential costs of Ukraine’s EU membership. In addition, Orbán apparently felt Kyiv would find it difficult to meet the necessary requirements to join, the so-called acquis communautaire.
Furthermore, Hungary is also dependent on energy supplies from Russia, which meant it has certain material interests that differ from rest of Europe.
Because its unique stance and Orbán’s close alliance with Trump, Hungary is being floated as a possible location for a peace summit between Russian President Vladimir Putin and Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky.
After the hours-long conversation with Zelensky and European leaders on August 18, Trump made two phone calls. One was to Putin, and the second to Orbán, Bloomberg reported. They came after after EU leaders held an additional, unscheduled meeting in the Oval Office.
White House Press Secretary Karoline Leavitt declined to comment on August 19 as to whether Budapest was being considered to host a Putin-Zelensky summit and Orbán did not confirm the conversation with Trump.
On August 19, the Hungarian PM posted on X that the leaders of the 27 member states of the EU had held a meeting.
They agreed that “the danger of a third world war can only be reduced through a Trump-Putin meeting”, he said.
Orbán said it was confirmed that the strategy of trying to isolate Russia had failed and that only diplomatic efforts would bring a solution to the conflict.
He further added: “Ukraine’s membership in the European Union provides no security guarantees; therefore, linking membership with security guarantees is unnecessary and dangerous.”
The leaders of the 27 member states of the European Union held a meeting today.
1. It has been confirmed that the danger of a third world war can only be reduced through a Trump-Putin meeting.
2. It has been confirmed that the isolation-based strategy has failed.
3. It has been… pic.twitter.com/iMMLPaaKCw— Orbán Viktor (@PM_ViktorOrban) August 19, 2025
Hungary has stalled many European decisions on Ukraine, including over much-needed aid packages, earning Orbán much negative press in the rest of Europe.
An about-turn by him on Ukrainian accession to the EU would be a hard sell. Earlier this year, the Hungarian Government organised a referendum on the matter that saw 95 per cent of the voters opposed to Ukraine joining the bloc, although only one in three eligible citizens cast their ballot.
The EU, though, has a tradition of ignoring referendum results regarding itself.
