PM Orbán in talks with Slovak PM Fico on Ukraine – UPDATE

Prime Minister Viktor Orbán, commenting on Ukraine’s halt of gas transit deliveries to Europe, told a joint press conference with his Slovak counterpart in Bratislava on Tuesday that there were “aggressive and hostile remarks” coming out of Kyiv.
Gas transit issue
Orbán said in response to a question after talks with Robert Fico that the gas transit issue could not be resolved using “aggressive and hostile remarks”. He said Ukraine was no longer in a position “to afford this” in light of the ongoing global changes he said were “working against Kyiv”. “If they remain aggressive and hostile … they’ll end up annoying us and we’ll take countermeasures,” he said.
The prime minister said he fully supported Fico’s efforts to find a solution to the issue of gas shipments through negotiations, adding that their stoppage threatened not just Slovakia but also Hungary’s interests and the entire region’s energy security. Orbán said the way Kyiv was attempting to control and shape relations with central European countries was “unacceptable”. “We show respect, but we also expect to be shown respect, and if we raise a serious issue, they should be at our disposal so that we could debate it the way we do in Europe,” he said.
Fico said they are interested in expanding Hungarian-Slovak cooperation in the field of nuclear energy. They also put great emphasis on cooperation in the field of energy policy. Fico referred back to his talks in Turkey, where an agreement was reached to allow Slovakia access to Russian gas via the Turkish Stream. This means that Russian gas can continue to reach Slovakia via Hungary.
read also: Russian gas supplies through Ukraine to Europe face sudden halt – Unexpected opportunity for Hungary?
EU and NATO membership for Ukraine?
Orbán said that regardless of what Brussels said about Ukraine’s European Union membership, it required the unanimous approval of member states, including Hungary and Slovakia. Ukraine, he added, could not behave as if the world, Bratislava and Budapest “danced to its tune”. “It might have been that way under the US Democratic administration but that’s over, and now a new era of peace is about to begin,” Orbán said. He said he had the impression that Kyiv was “not yet aware that the balance of power has radically changed and that the central European countries have to be taken seriously”.
Concerning Ukraine’s NATO aspirations, he said its membership in the alliance was not and would not be on the agenda, arguing that it would never have unanimous support. Orbán said the reason for the war between Russia and Ukraine was that the Russians had made it clear that they were willing to prevent Ukraine’s NATO membership even at the cost of war and a military offensive. He said admitting Ukraine to NATO would result in an immediate and direct war with Russia, which Hungary did not want. He added that everything needed to be done to achieve peace, and Hungary did not support admitting Ukraine to NATO because that “would equal war”.
Meanwhile, the prime minister said that Ukraine’s immediate accession to the EU would “ruin” Hungary. He said the EU could not afford the financial costs of admitting Ukraine to the bloc, “and we don’t want to bankrupt our own country”. He said Ukraine joining the EU would lead to tens of thousands of Hungarian farmers going bankrupt, and the EU funds earmarked for economic development would have to be given to Ukraine.
Orbán said talks on Ukraine’s EU accession were worthwhile, but it would take years or even decades before its accession could be completed. Orbán pointed out that because new EU members are decided on by the existing member states, Ukraine should not anger its neighbours. “If Ukraine knows what’s good for it, it should settle its relations with Slovakia and Hungary, it should show respect and behave the way an EU candidate country ought to,” the prime minister added.
Concerning his talks with Fico, Orbán said there was no doubt that both Hungary and Slovakia are and will remain members of NATO and the EU. Hungary’s memberships in both organisations was decided in referendums, so the government has no possibility or intention to change that, he added.
US, Brussels,
Referring to the inauguration of the new US president, Orbán said Hungarians were sometimes said to be “isolated on the international political stage … but as of yesterday, we are the mainstream”, adding that the new Western mainstream was pro-peace, family-friendly and anti-migration.
He said Hungary continued to have a vested interest in the war ending as soon as possible. He said those in Brussels “can’t see how quickly everything has changed”, and continued to pursue a “pro-war policy”, adding that it would take time for Brussels to adjust to the new situation. Orbán said it was “bad news” that Brussels wanted to “continue the war and its sanctions policy”. He said low energy prices were needed, and the actions of Brussels and Kyiv were driving up prices.
Slovakia has become Hungary’s second-most important trading partner
The prime minister said it would not be easy to “find the right political direction” with Ukraine after the war, arguing that the large amount of weapons in the country posed a risk to its neighbours. He said there was also a threat that Brussels would divert the funding owed to Hungary and Slovakia to Ukraine, adding that regional cooperation would be needed to protect these countries’ interests. Meanwhile, he said Hungarian-Slovak relations were more successful than they had been in a long time, noting that Slovakia has become Hungary’s second-most important trading partner after Germany. He noted that the two countries have recently built bridges, opened border crossing stations and linked their electricity grids and gas interconnectors whose capacity will be increased by around a billion cubic metres.
Mr. Fico and P.M. Orban stop playing with Ukraine, stop electric supply to Ukraine. Ukraine is not an EU member.
@mariavontheresa … As per Mr. Orbán … “if they end up annoying us and we’ll take countermeasures”. What if all the other EU and NATO Members start to feel … Annoyed? Distinct possibility, don´t you think?
And, again. I do find it interesting to have self-declared “sovereigntists” and “patriots”, whinge and whine when other countries (who are genuinely “under attack!”) take decisions or do things they do not like … Such as not re-engaging with their enemy after an agreement giving their enemy revenue to spend on weapons comes to term for the benefit of the likes of us. Or what am I missing, here?
Trump is getting detailed assessments of Russia and made the following statement regarding Putin: “He should make a deal. I think he’s destroying Russia by not making a deal. I think Russia is going to be in big trouble. You take a look at their economy. You take a look at their inflation in Russia. He’s not doing so well. I mean, he’s grinding it out… it’s not making him look very good… I think he would be well off to end that war.” Putin is burning through all of Russia’s cash and liquid financial reserves are expected to run out by this fall. He needs to recruit 20,000 to 30,000 new soldiers every month the replace the ones he sends into the meat grinder. His factories can’t keep up with equipment losses on the battlefield and this also will hit a critical point by fall.
I particularly like Mr. Orbán´s “they’ll end up annoying us and we’ll take countermeasures”. Which is code for “we will abuse our veto in the European Union”, because Slovakia and Hungary are hardly in a position to take “sovereign” countermeasures against Ukraine.
It also exposes the “Hungary First!” and “Sovereignty!” arguments to be bogus … When another country exercises their sovereignty (in this particular case, the gas transit agreement was honored until it expired, which everyone knew it would at some point), all of a sudden the rhetoric drastically changes.
Last but not least … Whereas @michaelsteiner would happily concede the annual EUR 397 per person net gift to Hungary, our Politicians raise the specter of “the diversion of funds owed to Hungary and Slovakia to Ukraine”…
We are an unapologetic TAKER, regardless of the rhetoric. Stupid Contributor countries, who do not place their own people first. However their hard earned money is owed to us, deserving Hungarians and Slovaks!
Interestingly, Mr. Trump is showing the way:
https://apnews.com/article/trump-foreign-aid-9f5336e84c45a6e782fa95f60a919f47
I watch my bird feeder daily to see the birds, but also to make sure they have enough to eat. One thing I’ve noticed over the years is that “birds of a feather feed together”.
Trump is now making economic threats against Russia and most importantly “other participating countries” if it doesn’t stop its’ war on Ukraine. “If we don’t make a ‘deal,’ and soon, I have no other choice but to put high levels of Taxes, Tariffs, and Sanctions on anything being sold by Russia to the United States, and various other participating countries”. “We can do it the easy way, or the hard way.” Hungary better get its’ act together and behave as an ally. If Trump goes the sanctions route he is going to hit Russian oil and gas exports to Hungary.