Expert: Putin’s Russia blackmails PM Orbán

Zoltán Sz. Bíró, a Russia expert, was the guest on the Friderikusz podcast and talked about the anti-Russia sanctions and the communication of the government and PM Orbán concerning that issue. He said that what Orbán did after the Bucha massacre shows that the Hungarian prime minister is no longer a “free man” concerning Russia.

According to szmo.hu, Sándor Friderikusz, the podcast’s host, was curious why Orbán communicates in a “putinish” way. Mr Sz. Bíró said he thought for a long while that the Hungarian prime minister believed that provided he maintains a good relationship with the Russian leader, he would seem more powerful. However, the Russia-expert said Orbán stood beside Putin after the Bucha massacres. Sz. Bíró said he could not agree with Orbán, who believed the US president went too far by condemning Putin for what happened in the Ukrainian city during the Russian occupation.

He believes Orbán lost his freedom after Bucha. For whatever reason, the Hungarian prime minister cannot act following the Hungarian national interests in the issue, he added. He said the Hungarian national interest was never to get cheap Russian oil and gas. That is because other countries, being hostile towards Russia after the invasion could also deal with their energy needs without Russian help. Therefore, Hungary does not need to maintain a special relationship with Russia, Sz. Bíró believes.

He said Orbán did so because there is some other reason why he lost his autonomy in connection with Russia and its president. However, he could not tell the reason.

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“The Russian leadership blackmails him, and he is not a free person regarding Russia”, szmo.hu wrote. Sz. Bíró cleared that Orbán accepted all of the EU sanction packages, so criticising the so-called “Brussels bureaucrats” in that issue is a delusion of the society.

Regarding the national consultation launched by Fidesz concerning the sanctions, he said the government would ask questions to which the people do not know the answer since nobody knows what effects some of the sanctions have on Russia, for example, in the long run.

He also drew public attention to a weakness in the government’s communication. The Orbán administration never says that Putin should stop the invasion despite regularly talking about how important ending the war would be from an economic point of view.

Sz. Bíró believes Hungary should support Ukraine in multiple ways until Kyiv wins the war. “There is no room for compromises”, he added. He highlighted there was no guarantee that if Russia won, they would stop trying to get more territories.

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Below, you may listen to the full episode in Hungarian:

Source: szmo.hu, Friderikusz Podcast