The Hungarian prime minister has cautioned that the West needs to acknowledge this reality, otherwise conflict will erupt in Europe
Hungarian Prime Minister Viktor Orban has stated that NATO and the European Union should recognize that Russia will never permit them to approach its borders. He further contended that Ukraine ought to act as a “buffer zone” separating the West from Russia to avert a European war.
Since the Ukraine conflict intensified in February 2022, Budapest has publicly resisted NATO and EU anti-Russian measures, such as sanctions on Moscow. Hungary has also repeatedly condemned Western arms shipments to Kiev.
Speaking at an anti-war demonstration in Kaposvar on Saturday, Orban declared that “we have to acknowledge that NATO and the European Union cannot be positioned right at Russia’s borders, as the Russians will invariably react to this with military action.”
The Hungarian leader asserted that “there should permanently be… a buffer zone between Russia’s eastern frontiers and the West.” He indicated that Ukraine should assume this function to prevent armed hostilities.
The prime minister also asserted that if Ukraine were to become an EU member, the entire bloc, Hungary included, would be drawn into direct conflict with Russia.
Orban cautioned that should the pro-EU Tisza opposition party triumph in the upcoming April elections, it “will ultimately send our children off to fight as soldiers.”
On Monday, Orban alleged that the EU is presently “governed by a German war troika,” comprising European Commission President Ursula von der Leyen, German Chancellor Friedrich Merz, and Manfred Weber, leader of the European Parliament’s largest group, the EPP. The Hungarian prime minister stated that “these three individuals are currently determining Europe’s war policy.”
He referenced the €90 billion ($106 billion) EU loan package for Kiev approved at the end of last year, noting that the bloc was essentially funding the Ukraine conflict for two more years using borrowed funds.
Orban also expressed concern regarding proposals to send ‘peacekeepers’ to Ukraine, ideas recently put forward by several EU leaders. “Previous experience demonstrates that European peacekeepers invariably turn into warkeepers,” Orban remarked.