One Coffee: Ukraine's Plan to Neutralize Orbán at the UN
Foreign Minister Andrii Sybiha says Kyiv will use a tactic proven in Brussels to manage a Hungarian leader who may soon hold the UN's most powerful office.
By Giulia Donovan ·
Ukrainian Foreign Minister Andrii Sybiha outlined a specific diplomatic strategy on X on Sunday to handle a potential appointment of Viktor Orbán as United Nations Secretary-General. The plan centers on removing the former Hungarian prime minister from the room during critical votes.
Sybiha referenced an incident at an EU summit in late 2023. At that meeting, Orbán left the chamber, which allowed European leaders to approve the start of accession negotiations with Ukraine without Budapest exercising a veto. Sybiha stated that Kyiv can share its experience of "taking him out for coffee at the right moment."
The minister expressed confidence that Orbán would rely on "masterful veto and blackmail skills" if he takes the UN post. Those skills were developed over years of derailing major decisions within the European Union. The joke about coffee serves as a practical blueprint for neutralizing that power.
Reports from The Wall Street Journal indicate the US administration is pushing for Orbán’s candidacy. Washington is counting on support from China and Russia for the nomination. Separately, investigative journalists reported in May that figures in the MAGA wing of the Republican Party see the UN role as a way to shield Orbán from prosecution in Hungary.
Hungarian investigative journalist Szabolcs Panyi added that Orbán is preparing to flee to the United States should legal action begin at home. The next step in the process is for the US to formally present the nomination, a move that will trigger negotiations among Security Council members.
