Hungarian Minister of Foreign Affairs and Trade Péter Szijjártó told Kossuth Rádió on Sunday, Nov. 23, that the peace plan represented a tremendous opportunity to end the Russian-Ukrainian war, which has been a strain on the entire European economy, including Hungary’s.
“Therefore, based on humanity and common sense, all European political leaders should support it,” he insisted.
Upon first hearing of the peace plan, on Friday, Nov. 21, Szijjártó said it brought hope for peace “and clearly proved” that U.S. President Donald Trump “will continue to do everything in the interest of peace and will not give up his efforts.” Had European leaders not impeded Trump’s earlier peace efforts, Szijjártó said, there might already have been peace in Ukraine.
“So, we now firmly call on European leaders not to obstruct American peace efforts,” the Hungarian foreign minister said.
Speaking in Brussels on Monday, Nov. 24, Szijjártó said the situation “will only get worse” if “the pro-war European leaders” undermine the peace plan, which “is a major chance” for peace to return to Central Europe finally. Yet, the foreign minister added that, in his view, “Brussels and the European leaders don’t have an interest in approving it.”
One reason might be that they had no part in conceiving it, he suggested, and neither did Ukraine. The original 28-point peace plan leaked to the press last week appears to be the work of Donald Trump’s special envoy for peace missions, Steve Witkoff, and Vladimir Putin’s representative, Kirill Dmitriev.
That said, the American contribution to the proposal might be overblown. According to the British weekly news and current affairs journal The Economist, analysis by artificial intelligence revealed it had likely been translated from Russian.
These origins would make sense, as the document reads like a wishlist of Russian demands. Ukraine would be required to relinquish territory in the contested Donbas region that Russia has yet to conquer, designate Russian as a second state language, and reinstate the local branch of the Russian Orthodox Church, which had been banned as a tool of Kremlin propaganda and espionage.
Ukraine’s military would be reduced to a fraction of its current manpower and prohibited from retaining certain weapons, such as long-range systems capable of striking Moscow or St. Petersburg, with no reciprocal concessions required of Russia. Western troops would be barred from entering Ukraine, and a constitutional amendment would preclude NATO membership. Ukraine would depend on an American security guarantee, ostensibly based on NATO’s Article 5, but without its military integration.
The agreement in its original form would see Western sanctions lifted, and Russia welcomed back into the G8, both of which Szijjártó underlined as being in Hungary’s interest. Yet other European leaders may take issue with Russia’s frozen assets, currently intended for reparations, being diverted to a new fund for joint American-Russian projects, while Europe foots a USD 100 billion bill for Ukraine’s reconstruction, and America claims half the profits from these projects and a stake in Ukraine’s gas infrastructure.
Since the original peace deal was leaked, European, Ukrainian, and U.S. negotiators have worked to make the offer more balanced.
Speaking to the Financial Times, Ukraine’s First Deputy Foreign Minister, Sergiy Kyslytsa, who attended weekend talks in Geneva, said the latest plan consisted of just 19 points, with some of the most politically sensitive elements, including territorial concessions, now due to be decided by the leaders themselves.
Ukrainians would usually see these demands as non-starters. However, Zelenskyy is currently in the throes of the worst corruption scandal since he took office. The Ukrainian presidential office suspects the timing of the peace plan suggests the corruption crisis is being used to coerce Ukraine into unreasonable concessions.
Ironically, Zelenskyy’s second most significant scandal took place several months ago, when the president tried to curb the powers of the anti-corruption authority that uncovered the current scheme, triggering mass protests that forced him to back down. The National Anti-Corruption Bureau (NABU) subsequently revealed that government officials had embezzled at least USD 100 million from Ukraine’s nuclear energy company Energoatom.
While the scandal risks greater cynicism amongst Ukrainians and increased desertion amongst soldiers, it has also made it more difficult for Ukraine to justify the support it desperately needs for the war effort. Although the investigation demonstrates that the country is making strides towards greater accountability, countries already skeptical of providing support, such as Hungary, see it as a reason to cease further support.
“It is truly shocking that, while it has come to light that a war mafia in Ukraine is pocketing the money of European people, God only knows exactly where, instead of ordering an audit or suspending further payments, the president of the [European] Commission suggests we send even more money,” Prime Minister Viktor Orbán said in a post on his Facebook page. “This is like trying to wean an alcoholic off drinking by sending them another crate of vodka,” he added.
This article was first published in the Budapest Business Journal print issue of November 28, 2025.
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