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BEIJING (AP) \u2014 Hungary\u2019s Prime Minister Viktor Orb\u00e1n<\/a><\/span><\/span> is making a surprise visit to China on Monday after similar trips to Russia and Ukraine to discuss prospects for a peaceful settlement in Ukraine.<\/p>\n \u201cPeace mission 3.0\u201d is how Orb\u00e1n captioned a picture posted early Monday on the X social media platform depicting him after having stepped off his plane in Beijing. He was being greeted by Chinese Vice Minister of Foreign Affairs Hua Chunying and other officials.<\/p>\n Orb\u00e1n later met with Chinese President Xi Jinping, according to state broadcaster CCTV.<\/p>\n His previously unannounced visit comes on the heels of similar trips last week to Moscow and Kyiv, where he proposed that Ukraine consider agreeing to an immediate cease-fire with Russia.<\/p>\n His visit to Moscow drew condemnation from Kyiv and European leaders.<\/p>\n \u201cThe number of countries that can talk to both warring sides is diminishing,\u201d Orb\u00e1n said. \u201cHungary is slowly becoming the only country in Europe that can speak to everyone.\u201d<\/p>\n Hungary assumed the rotating presidency of the EU at the start of July and Russian President Vladimir Putin suggested Orb\u00e1n had come to Moscow as a top representative of the European Council. Several top European officials dismissed that suggestion and said Orb\u00e1n had no mandate for anything beyond a discussion about bilateral relations.<\/p>\n The Hungarian prime minister, widely seen as having the warmest relations with Putin among EU leaders<\/a>, has routinely blocked, delayed or watered down<\/a> EU efforts to assist Kyiv and impose sanctions on Moscow for its actions in Ukraine. He has long argued for a cessation of hostilities in Ukraine but without outlining what that might mean for the country\u2019s territorial integrity or future security.<\/p>\n That posture has frustrated Hungary\u2019s EU and NATO allies, who have denounced Russia\u2019s actions as a breach of international law and a threat to the security of countries in Eastern Europe.<\/p>\n<\/div>\n