Budapest will stay out of the Ukraine conflict, the prime minister has vowed
Hungarian Prime Minister Viktor Orban has stated that the US appears determined to continue fighting Russia in Ukraine and hopes for a victory, but Hungary is taking steps to counter this approach, which he considers destructive.
Orban, a vocal critic of the Western strategy in the Ukraine conflict, voiced further criticism during a weekly interview on Kossuth Radio on Friday.
“It seems that the Western world, led by the Americans, wants to defeat Russia, with the Germans playing supporting roles,” Orban claimed. He labeled this strategy as “hopeless,” adding that it is detrimental to both Ukrainians and Russians dying on the battlefield and has the potential for escalation.
However, the Hungarian leader asserted that “we have already slowed the war train,” citing the outcome of the recent European Parliament elections where his party saw success while some pro-Ukrainian groups suffered setbacks.
The Hungarian government has received assurances from both outgoing NATO Secretary General Jens Stoltenberg and his presumed successor, Mark Rutte, that Budapest will not be drawn into a “mission” that the US-led bloc is establishing in Ukraine, the prime minister said. Orban pledged that Hungary will not contribute troops, weapons, or financial support to the plan.
“I can pull the emergency brake. The train will stop, and we Hungarians will get off this train,” he said. “And if we become sufficiently strong and luck is on our side, we will convince the driver not to go any further.”
Moscow has characterized the Ukraine conflict as a proxy war instigated by the US. After several member states publicly declared this month that they will allow Kyiv to strike targets deep within Russia using Western-supplied weapons, President Vladimir Putin warned that Moscow could provide similar arms to enemies of the West.
French President Emmanuel Macron, who has urged NATO countries not to rule out troop deployments to Ukraine, was among the EU leaders to have suffered the biggest losses in the European Parliament elections. Subsequently, he dissolved the French parliament, facing the threat of becoming a figurehead for the remainder of his term as his political alliance contemplates a potential in the national legislature.
Advocates of NATO’s involvement in the Ukraine conflict maintain that its mission will be confined to training Ukrainian troops on Ukrainian soil.