Orbán: “People will Demand Cease Fire, Peace, Sanity and – if Necessary – New Governments”
In his historic State of the Union address Feb. 18, Hungarian Prime Minister Viktor Orbán called for a cease fire and peace talks in the Ukraine war. Orbán fondly remembered the pro-peace Presidency of Donald Trump and looked forward to the return of “our Republican friends” 2024.
Orbán stressed his intention to remain neutral in the Russia-Ukraine conflict, even as NATO “is on the side of war.” “Can Hungary afford to remain on the side of peace in such circumstances, in a way that is directly opposed to that of our allies?”, Orbán asked. “Of course we can, because Hungary is an independent, free and sovereign state,“ Orbán said, calling neutrality “the only right thing” to do.
Orbán said that “the war in Ukraine is not a war between the armies of Good and Evil, but a war between the troops of two Slavic countries: a war limited in time and – for the time being – in space. It is their war, not ours.”
Orbán said Hungary would not participate in economic sanctions against Russia, because they are “not in the national interest.” He opposed “priests and church leaders being placed on sanctions lists,” as well as “artists and athletes.” He noted that outside the West, most countries in the world understand “the limited significance of the war in Ukraine and the primacy of their own national interest.”