Europe has once again been pushed to the margins of a major international peace effort after reports that background negotiations are underway between Washington and Moscow on ending the war in Ukraine, Zoltán Kiszelly, director of political analysis at Hungary’s Századvég think tank, has claimed.
Speaking to Magyar Nemzet, Kiszelly said Brussels has only itself to blame, arguing that the EU’s “pro-war policy” has left the bloc watching from the sidelines while others shape the outcome.
The latest concern in European capitals followed a sudden breakdown in planned talks between Ukraine’s president and Steve Witkoff, Donald Trump’s special envoy. Witkoff reportedly cancelled his meeting after President Zelensky rejected American ideas and instead pushed a proposal he had developed with several European partners, according to Interfax-Ukraine.
Meanwhile, media outlets, including NBC, report that Trump has already approved a 28-point draft peace plan drawn up by Witkoff, Vice President JD Vance, Secretary of State Marco Rubio, and Jared Kushner. Sources told U.S. networks that the plan includes multiple concessions: Ukraine would have to surrender the Donetsk region as a precondition for peace; Kyiv would legally retain ownership of the territory but allow Russia de facto control in exchange for an undisclosed rental fee. Additional provisions reportedly include halving the size of Ukraine’s armed forces and banning long-range missiles.
While this deal takes shape between Washington and Moscow, Europe is “once again a bystander in the geopolitical game taking place on its own continent,” Kiszelly said. He argued the EU has “failed twice,” first by encouraging the United States to stay the course militarily, and second by allowing what he describes as Brussels’ “arrogance” to push European diplomacy out of the room, despite attempts by Hungarian Prime Minister Viktor Orbán to encourage Brussels to change tack.
“Trump looks after America’s interests, Moscow represents Russian interests, and Ukrainians are happy if someone helps them,” he said, while Brussels has excluded itself by pursuing “ideological and desire-driven policies” rather than pragmatism. Despite setbacks, he said ceasefire discussions are still advancing and claimed Trump has “put the parties on a roller-coaster ride, but the negotiations did not break down.”
The Hungarian perspective is shaped by Prime Minister Viktor Orbán’s long-standing insistence that Europe must restore direct contact with Moscow to avoid precisely this situation. Kiszelly said the current moment “proves Orbán right,” arguing that without a revived Russian-European dialogue, the EU has no meaningful role.
Trump’s draft plan has already sparked outrage across Europe. Member state government officials speaking to Axios, the Financial Times, and the Telegraph said the widespread territorial concessions demanded of Kyiv are unacceptable.
EU foreign policy chief Kaja Kallas insisted any agreement must involve both European countries and Ukraine itself. Polish foreign minister Radosław Sikorski said it would be unacceptable to impose restrictions on a victim’s right to self-defense. France’s foreign minister Jean-Noël Barrot said Ukrainians want peace, “but peace cannot be a capitulation,” and Spain’s foreign minister, José Manuel Albares, echoed that view, stating that no peace plan is legitimate without both Ukraine and the European Union fully included.
Rubio has not denied the reported details of the plan’s content. He wrote on X that Washington would continue to develop “serious and realistic ideas” and that a durable peace would require “difficult but necessary concessions” from both sides.
The post ‘Orbán was right!’ — Europe has been sidelined again as Washington and Moscow shape new peace push, says Hungarian political analyst appeared first on Remix News.
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