The President of Ukraine Volodymyr Zelensky has arrived in the Italian resort town of Chernobio , on the shores of Lake Como in Lombardy, in northern Italy, to participate in the annual economic forum "European House - Ambrosetti", reported AFP and ANSA, quoted by BTA.
Zelensky came to Italy from Germany, where earlier today he attended a meeting of defense ministers of Ukraine's allies, where he called for more weapons to be sent to his country.
In Germany, Zelensky also held a meeting with Chancellor Olaf Scholz. Now in Italy, he will have a meeting with Italian Prime Minister Giorgia Meloni, who is expected to arrive in Chernobyl tomorrow morning and who will address a meeting at the economic forum.
Earlier today, the Hungarian Prime Minister Viktor Orbán spoke at the forum, who was invited by the organizers because his country is the rotating chairman of the EU for six months. So far, the official program of the forum does not include a meeting between Zelensky and Orban. But earlier today, Orbán said that he would of course meet with Zelensky in Chernobio if there was an occasion for such a meeting.
"Our relations are good,", Orban told journalists in Chernobyl. "If there is no dialogue, there is no chance for peace," he emphasized.
Zelensky announced in "Telegram" that he plans to meet during the forum in Chernobio with representatives of Italian companies and hold a conversation with Meloni.
The Chernobyl Forum is organized every year and is considered a mini version of the Davos Forum in Switzerland. It will continue from today until Sunday. It is usually attended by leading Italian politicians, businessmen, industrialists, but leading figures on the international political and economic scene are also invited. Zelensky is expected to speak to the participants of the demonstration.
Zelensky and Orban last saw each other at the beginning of July in Kyiv. Orban then called on the Ukrainian leader to consider a quick ceasefire, a call that illustrated the differences between Budapest and most European countries over Ukraine. Zelensky, for his part, insisted on the importance of achieving a just peace for his country, recalling that Ukraine demands the complete withdrawal of Russian forces from Ukrainian territory and the payment of reparations.
Orbán drew the EU's anger and bewilderment when, after his visit to Kiev, he went to Moscow for a meeting with Russian President Vladimir Putin. This initiative to achieve peace, undertaken by Orbán, was not coordinated with the other member countries of the bloc, notes France Presse.
Today, Orban said that the search for peace in Ukraine comes before a preliminary ceasefire. "Western society mistakenly thinks that a peace plan should be developed first, then negotiations should be started and finally a ceasefire," Orbán said.
Orban stated that a meeting between Putin and Zelensky is needed, ANSA reported.
A meeting between Meloni and Zelensky in Chernobyl will allow the Italian leader to assure the Ukrainian president of her unreserved support for Ukraine at a time when one of the coalition partners in the Italian government - Matteo Salvini - is against any entry of Ukrainian forces into Russian territory.