Russia may use blackmail to divide Europe and induce individual countries to break away, President Volodymyr Zelensky warned at the European Political Community summit in the U.K. on July 18.
Unity is a main European advantage, Zelensky said, according to a Kyiv Independent reporter on the ground. At the same time, Russian President Vladimir Putin may approach individual leaders to "tempt, pressure, or blackmail" them so that one "betrays the rest."
Zelensky did not name specific leaders or clarify what kind of blackmail he was referring to.
The comments came in the wake of a recent series of high-level meetings that Hungarian Prime Minister Viktor Orban held with Russian President Vladimir Putin, Chinese President Xi Jinping, and Republican presidential nominee Donald Trump. Orban and Zelensky also met in a surprise visit by the Hungarian prime minister to Kyiv.
Orban referred to the meetings as a "peace mission," but the unilateral overtures to Russia were not well received across Europe. Zelensky repeated past criticisms of Orban and the visit to Russia in coded terms in his July 18 speech.
"If someone in Europe tries to resolve issues behind others' backs, or even at the expense of someone else, if someone wants to make some trips to the capital of war, to talk and perhaps promise something against our common interests or at the expense of Ukraine or other countries, then why should we consider such a person?" Zelensky said.
"The EU and NATO can also address all their issues without this one individual."
Earlier in July, Zelensky said that Orban's unilateral peace mission could not succeed in creating a peace deal, arguing instead that only "serious and strong alliances" could be effective mediators between Russia and Ukraine.
Ahead of the global peace summit in June, Zelensky warned that Russia was blackmailing global leaders to disrupt the summit and decrease participation.
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