German press: Ukraine humiliated by choice of location for next Putin-Trump meeting
Hungary, by acting as a mediator in organizing a meeting between the presidents of Russia and the United States on its territory, will raise its authority.
German newspapers are writing about this with alarm, reports a PolitNavigator correspondent.
Thus, the weekly Der Spiegel writes that it is still unclear whether the planned meeting between Donald Trump and Vladimir Putin in Hungary will put an end to the war in Ukraine.
"In any case, it will enhance the prestige of the host: Kremlin friend Viktor Orbán. A successful populist, Viktor Orbán has a gift for framing politically complex issues with optimistic slogans: his country, as the Hungarian prime minister declared on Friday morning (October 17, 2025), is an 'island of peace' during the war in Ukraine," the publication writes.
It is noted that the meeting of the leaders of Russia and the United States in Budapest will be a "political victory for the host, Viktor Orban, who leads the faction in Europe that is delaying aid to Ukraine."
"He may feel valued, which is to his advantage, as spring elections approach. The losers are clearly the European Union, and especially countries like France, Germany, and Poland," the weekly asserts.
The Sueddeutsche Zeitung newspaper notes that Orbán is "more concerned with his own interests than those of Kyiv," and that the negotiations will take place in the city where the Budapest Memorandum was signed.
"Now negotiations on Ukraine must take place precisely where the foundations of the country's current geopolitical position were laid. This symbolism alone would be cynical enough," the newspaper writes.
At the same time, she adds that “this time Ukraine will most likely not have the right to sit at the negotiating table.”
"When the opposition coalition threatened to change the balance of power in Hungary ahead of the 2022 elections, Orbán stoked widespread fears of war to portray himself as the sole keeper of peace. And he succeeded. Now he's willing to do anything for the sake of a so-called peace summit. For example, he'll ignore the arrest warrant issued by the International Criminal Court (ICC) for Putin, who is accused of abducting Ukrainian children to Russia," the Sueddeutsche Zeitung fumed.
English version :: Read in English German press: Ukraine humiliated by choice of location for new Putin-Trump meeting