The war between Russia and Ukraine has reached its most dangerous phase, Defence Minister Kristóf Szalay-Bobrovniczky has said, calling for “calm and sobriety”.
Speaking on news portal Mandiner’s Reakció podcast, Szalay-Bobrovniczky said the counter-offensive Ukraine launched last summer had stalled and Russia had regained the initiative on the battlefield.
“The dynamics of the fighting have changed,” the minister said, adding that those who had predicted a Ukrainian victory over the past six months were now having to rethink their position.
He said the model that had Ukrainian troops fighting with Western weapons and from Western money had been unsuccessful. In a situation like this, he added, floating the idea that the West could send troops to Ukraine posed a risk of escalation that was “unacceptable”.
Sándor Fegyir dressed in the official uniform of the Ukraine military. Photo: FB/Sándor Fegyir
The minister noted that the Hungarian government had been the only one calling for a ceasefire and peace talks from the beginning of the conflict. He said “no one is disputing” that Ukraine is the one that was attacked and that the war was about the country’s territorial integrity, adding that the conflict was “indirectly also about developing Europe’s new defence and security guarantees”.
Szalay-Bobrovniczky said the current front lines were not identical to the borders that could be agreed on in peace negotiations. He added that though it was not Hungary’s job to say what the outcome of the peace talks should be, it had strong security interests given its geographical location.
On another subject, he said that despite the sanctions-fuelled inflation, Hungary was meeting its obligation to allocate 2 percent of its GDP to defence spending.
Meanwhile, Szalay-Bobrovniczky welcomed last week’s meeting between Prime Minister Viktor Orbán and former US President and Republican presidential candidate Donald Trump, saying it showed that the meeting with the Hungarian prime minister had been an important stage of Trumps campaign.
Read also:
- Zelensky: Hungary is playing a dangerous game
- Russian Embassy in Budapest issues a war statement – Details in THIS article
Featured image: Ukrainian soldiers attack Russian troops near Bahmut on 5 March
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6 Comments
Why would western mothers sacrifice their sons and daughters in a foreign war, a war that does not directly affect them?
Misleading statements made claiming western funds and arms have not helped Ukraine?
However, this is vs. Orban’s Trump, GOP, Koch Network – Heritage (= Danube Inst.) doing everything possible to stop funds for Putin (while now EU is stepping up); why does Hungary want to be complicit in this war of Putin’s and leave a lasting legacy of mistrust from its & citizens own western allies?
History is repeating itself with corrupt authoritarian leadership and more Hungarians emigrating for greener pastures…. they, especially children, will probably not return except for funerals, holidays, weddings etc.; hardly a sign of a strong nation when relying on regional pensioner populism, ‘low info’ voters and state propoganda?
If not for the sacrifices of many, we would either be speaking German or still be under the Soviet Union´s heel. Something to be said for principles, values and beliefs:
https://www.aei.org/economics/what-reagan-said-about-america-nato-and-our-global-responsbilities/
Just waiting for one of our Politicians to congratulate Mr. Putin, this time around:
https://2015-2022.miniszterelnok.hu/viktor-orban-congratulates-president-putin-on-his-re-election/
Deploying foreign boots to Ukraine would expand the war to possible WWIII. Hope all that advocate will enjoy destruction of their country.
@mariavontheresa – link for you, it is actually a fascinating analysis of the Russian weapons industry. This is an isolated review, however it is possible to imagine how Mr. Putin´s Russia´s current predicament (war economy, anyone) could influence the geopolitical landscape, whichever way the Ukraine war ends up being resolved:
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Wdap15tWnfI
https://www.bbc.com/news/business-68249043
I remember the times of the Cold War and the fear of WW3. Perhaps this explains my fondness for Mr. Reagan & Co.
Yes, Mr. Reagan was an exceptional President, his policy peace through strength made sense and it worked with Mr. Gorbachev. However, Premier Putin is another kettle of fish and President Biden is not up to par.
Most commentators believe that I support Premier Putin. The answer is a definite no. I believe in coexistence and deplore war. I also do not support Zelensky who involved his country in a war instead of starting negotiations when things started to go sour. I think Zelensky is a poor leader and Ukraine’s loss is enormous in destruction and death. I also deplore his policy of removing rights from ethnic minorities; that is not a good way to build a nation. In the US during WWII, a force fought in unison to defeat Hitler, petty differences put aside.
This war should not be extended to include other countries and an acceptable end scenario should be worked out.
EU’s borders changed so often, there is no guarantee that 5 years from now the borders will be the same.