Monitoring Desk
BUDAPEST: Hungary’s Prime Minister Viktor Orban vowed Saturday to maintain ties with Moscow and urged others to do the same, even as the European Union (EU) tries to keep a united front against Russia over its military invasion of Ukraine.
“We will keep our economic ties with Russia, and we also propose this to our allies as well,” Orban said in his annual state-of-the-nation address.
“The Hungarian government does not consider the claim that Russia is a threat to the security of Europe Hungary to be realistic,” he added.
Instead, Orban said, Europe was “on the verge of drifting into war… In fact, it is already at an indirect war with Russia,” he said.
“We have only one choice: staying out of the war. As a member of NATO and EU, this would not be easy because everyone else is there for the war,” he alleged.
“We should honestly face the fact that the war will become more severe and cruel,” he added.
Hungary’s leader always refuses to criticize Putin
Since the launch of the Russian invasion of Ukraine last year, Hungary has trod an ambiguous path on the war, with Orban condemning Russian military aggression while refusing to criticize Russian President Vladimir Putin by name.
Orban, who nursed close relations with Putin before the war, has also refused to supply weapons to Ukraine as other EU nations have done, instead calling for an immediate truce and peace talks.
Instead, Orban has blamed EU sanctions against Russia for causing soaring inflation in Hungary, which reached an EU-high of almost 26% in January 2023.
The prime minister promised to fight inflation, saying it is like a “tiger” that “will eat you up” if you do not kill it.
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Orban has governed the central European country since 2010 and has often been at odds with Brussels.
In the latest skirmish, the EU has blocked billions of euros in funds for Hungary as it insists on anti-corruption reforms.
