No One Can Win this War, Says Viktor Orbán

Hungary is seriously affected by the war in Ukraine, the Western countries are not seeking peace, and the EU leadership is following American interests, Prime Minister Viktor Orbán told a Swiss weekly.

“There are some who want to force Hungary into the war, and they are not picky about the means with which to achieve that goal”, Prime Minister Viktor Orbán told the Swiss weekly Weltwoche – according to a summary published on his website –, stressing that “Hungary’s leadership is strong enough to keep the war away from our country.”

.@PM_ViktorOrban in interview with @Weltwoche‘s @KoeppelRoger: “Hungary’s political leadership is strong enough to keep our country away from war” despite pressure to join the conflict. 1/7 pic.twitter.com/0UDNDf4PgR

— Zoltan Kovacs (@zoltanspox) March 2, 2023

According to Orbán, Hungarians “are most affected by the EU sanctions introduced against Russia” which have drastically increased the prices of oil and gas. He added that the war “is taking its toll on our soul, on our psyche.”

Ukraine is our neighbor where Hungarians live as well. They are conscripted and are dying by the hundreds on the front,”

he pointed out.

Viktor Orbán said the most important realization of the war in Ukraine is that “Europe has retired from the debate.”

In the decisions adopted in Brussels, I recognize American interests more frequently than European ones. In a war that is taking place in Europe the Americans have the final word,

he added.

The prime minister agreed with the journalist’s assumption that the deeper causes of Europe’s weakness should be sought in the European Union because “it is destroying the nation states without replacing them with anything workable.”

Regarding the outcome of the war, Orbán said “no one can win it.”

There is a nuclear power with a population of 140 million up against the Ukrainians, while there is the whole of NATO up against the Russians. This is what makes things so dangerous. There is a stalemate which can easily escalate into a world war,”

he pointed out.

The prime minister reminded that two weeks before the outbreak of the war when he met with Vladimir Putin for the last time in Moscow, the Russian President told him that Hungary’s NATO membership was not a problem, only that of Ukraine and Georgia. “Putin has a problem – this is what he told me – with the American missile bases already created in Romania and Poland, and with NATO’s potential expansion towards Ukraine and Georgia in order to station armaments there. Additionally, the Americans terminated important disarmament treaties. This is why Putin could no longer have a good night’s sleep,” he explained, adding that he understood what Putin said, but cannot accept what he did.

@PM_ViktorOrban to @Weltwoche: When it comes to the war, our priorities are to keep #Hungary out of it & work towards restoring #peace.

“Peace begins in the heart. It must reach the head, which then leads the hand. i.e. you have to desire peace, then want it, & then make it.” pic.twitter.com/rLr3OcH4EC

— Balázs Orbán (@BalazsOrban_HU) March 2, 2023

According to Orbán, the desire, the will to create peace is missing, at least in the West. He pointed out that “the Chinese, the Indians, the Arabs, the Turks and the Brazilians all want peace”.

The West has lost its ability to unite the world in the interest of a single cause. Its philosophical tenets are limited in space. This is a new phenomenon,”

he underlined.

Featured photo via Miniszterelnöki Sajtóiroda/Fischer Zoltán