Chinese President Xi Jinping on Monday called for a ceasefire in Ukraine and urged world leaders to push for talks between Moscow and Kyiv during a meeting with Hungarian Prime Minister Viktor Orban.

Orban made the visit to China after trips to Russia and Ukraine last week to discuss a peaceful resolution in the yearslong war. 

Orban has been busy since he assumed the rotating presidency of the European Union earlier this month. 

Orban’s proposal for a ceasefire was not met with enthusiasm or even much interest from the two warring countries, the South China Morning Post reported. He had a better audience with Xi. 

“China is a key power in creating the conditions for peace in the Russia-Ukraine war,” Orban posted on X. “This is why I came to meet with President Xi in Beijing, just two months after his official visit to Budapest.”

Xi praised Orban’s efforts and said China and Hungary would maintain communication on peace efforts and that their views on the subject were “aligned.” 

“China has been actively promoting peace talks in its own way and encourages and supports all efforts conducive to peaceful resolution of the crisis,” Xi said, according to state news agency Xinhua.

“It is in the interests of all parties to have a ceasefire and end the war at an early date and seek a political solution,” Xi said.

On Facebook, Orban said China was a “key player” to bring peace to Ukraine. 

“In addition to the warring parties, it depends on the decision of three world powers, the United States, the European Union and China, when the Russian-Ukrainian war will end,” he said.

Under Orban, Hungary’s political and economic ties with China have strengthened. Last year, Chinese EV manufacturing giant BYD announced it would open its first European EV production factory in Hungary. 

Orban is also among the few European leaders who have opposed Western military aid to Ukraine and has either blocked or weakened EU efforts to help Ukraine and impose sanctions on Russia. 

Orban has pushed for a ceasefire in Ukraine but has not provided a plan or what that would mean for the country’s border or future security. 

Last week, he was shoulder to shoulder with Putin, when Russia’s leader declared that he would not entertain the idea of a ceasefire that would allow neighboring Ukraine “to recoup losses, regroup, and rearm.”

Orban’s friendly bond with Putin and Xi has put him at odds with EU member states, with European Council President Charles Michel claiming Hungary has “no mandate” to engage with Russia on behalf of the EU. 

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Orban’s hard-right party could be in the process of “forming what could be the dominant right-wing alliance in the European Parliament, including France’s National Rally party led by Marine Le Pen, which opposes continued funding for Kyiv,” the South China Morning Post reported. 

Orban is on his way to Washington, D.C., where he will gather with other Western leaders to discuss the Ukraine situation at a NATO summit that starts Tuesday.