PM Orbán: Brussels feverish for war, but Ukraine cannot win, Hungary will not deliver weapons

“One thing’s certain: there will only be peace when things change in Brussels,” the prime minister said.

“I went as far as I could”, said the prime minister

In December, they “fought for the monies due to Hungary”, Orbán said, adding that Hungary had now “received a guarantee” that disbursements would not stop and the funds would not be sent to Ukraine.

“I would be very surprised if this agreement weren’t fulfilled,” he said.

The prime minister said that when it came to disputes, both Brussels and Hungary had “tools in their hands”. “True, the size of our tools differ — they are 26 countries — and if there is no agreement they can damage us , but the damage we can cause them would also be unpleasant,” he said. “Everyone would like to avoid this,” he added.

“I went as far as I could, to the precipice,” Orbán said. Had Hungary used its veto, the other 26 countries would have come to an agreement and sent the money to Ukraine, even taking Hungarians’ money away and giving it to Ukraine,” he added.

This would have entailed “huge conflicts which everyone wanted to avoid”, he said. “Eventually, a good solution was found: Hungary isn’t sending weapons to Brussels, the country will receive its money from Brussels, and will contribute to the civilian maintenance of Ukraine,” he added.

Orbán supporting European farmers

It is unfair on European farmers that “Brussels has introduced regulations that make production increasingly expensive while allowing the import of produce from countries where the rules do not apply,” Orbán said.

Orbán told public radio that Ukrainian agricultural products should not be allowed to enter the European market under the current conditions, “though it would be best not to allow them at all”.

Orbán said the farmers were protesting because they felt their voice was not being heard. Their only means to change this “is to stand in the squares, blare their horns and fight the police,” he said.

The prime minister said there had been a strenuous debate about this issue at the EU leaders summit, and several leaders had called on the European Commission not to allow Ukrainian agricultural imports.

He added that he had met farmers demonstrating in Brussels, and they asked the Poles, the Slovaks and Hungarians to block Ukrainian shipments at the border of Europe.

The Hungarian left wing is financed from abroad

“It’s not without reason there’s a sense that Brussels often represents someone else’s interests rather than European interests,” Orban said, adding that the same feeling emerged in Hungary’s parliament. “When it comes to the issue of weapons for Ukraine, for instance, [there is the sense that] the Hungarian left wing is financed from abroad,” the prime minister said.

“Those who are giving them the money are all pro-war,” Orbán said, insisting that the money was donated with the purpose of involving Hungary in the war through the left wing.

In Brussels, too, “you can often see that they represent the interests of the other side”, he said. “If there is too big a distance between voters and leaders, the leaders will be sent off,” he said, adding that Hungarians would soon have a chance to take part in the European parliamentary elections in June.

Reflecting on the meeting of Hungarian Foreign Minister Peter Szijjarto and his Ukrainian counterpart, Dmitro Kuleba, earlier this week, Orbán noted that Kuleba had called Orban and Szijjarto “pro-Hungary, not pro-Russia”.

Orbán said Hungary was a sovereign country, and as such, was “not interested in the Ukrainian opinion”. “We don’t need a kosher label from Ukraine.”

Hungary’s foreign policy will represent the interests of Hungarians equally against Ukraine, Russia and the US, he said.

As regards Hungary-Ukraine relations, Orbán reiterated that Hungary supported Ukraine in terms of peace, though Transcarpathian Hungarians had been “deprived of their rights since 2015 in a way reminiscent of old communist times”. “Chances for a change after Thursday’s EU summit are better, though this has yet to be implemented,” he added.