Trump called Hungarian premier Orban to question his blocking Ukraine's EU membership: Report

ISTANBUL

US President Donald Trump called Hungarian Prime Minister Viktor Orban to address his obstruction of Ukraine's EU membership, Bloomberg reported Tuesday.

The conversation emerged from Monday's White House discussions between Trump, Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy and European leaders.

European officials requested that Trump leverage his relationship with Orban to convince him to abandon his opposition to Ukraine's EU bid, the news outlet reported, citing those familiar with the matter.

Orban maintains opposition

During the call, Hungary expressed a willingness to host future negotiations between Russian President Vladimir Putin and Zelenskyy.

Trump said there would be a meeting between Putin and Zelenskyy, but the location has not yet been finalized.

Orban responded publicly Tuesday on the US social media company Facebook, indicating he received the membership request but remained unmoved. "Ukraine's membership in the European Union does not provide any security guarantees," he wrote. "Therefore linking membership with security guarantees is unnecessary and dangerous."

Neither Washington nor Budapest confirmed the call.

The conversation followed extensive talks involving Trump, Zelenskyy, six European leaders and NATO Secretary-General Mark Rutte, who traveled to Washington to advocate for coordinated peace efforts. The gathering occurred days after Trump's summit with Putin in the US state of Alaska.

Orban previously praised the US-Russia meeting as a turning point that made "the world a safer place."

Ukraine has long sought membership in the supranational political and economic union.