Viktor Orbán: Hungary Is Not at War with Anyone

Prime Minister Viktor Orbán spoke about the war in Ukraine in a radio interview on Friday morning, as well as in a meeting with speakers of the MCC conference the previous day.

“For us, Hungary’s security comes first, and that is why Hungary is not at war with anyone,” Prime Minister Viktor Orbán said on  public radio on Friday.

“We said from the beginning that this is not our war, and that this is a war that should be localized, not internationalized, Orbán emphasized. “Hungary is not drifting into war, and if the government were to accidentally take steps in this direction, it would be confronting the will of the people,” he added.

According to the prime minister, the international pressure on Hungary to get involved in the war is immense. As he put it, “they hit, beat, kick, and bite us.”

Orbán was asked about the decision to provide Ukraine with German Leopards and American Abrams tanks, and the fact that Ukrainians now want to see the fighter jets sent.

It started when the Germans said that they will only give helmets, but they will not send deadly equipment to a war. We are already at the stage of tanks. If you do not set your boundaries in a conflict, you will be dragged into it,”

the prime minister argued. Referring to the German foreign minister’s statement this week that the European Union is already at war with Russia, Orbán said that in his view, this statement was of no significance because it was not a matter of statements.

If you send weapons […] then you can say whatever you want, you are part of the war,”

he stressed.

On Thursday, the prime minister hosted the foreign speakers of the MCC Conference on the Future of Publishing in an informal discussion with Balázs Orbán, his political director and the chairman of the Board of Trustees of the MCC, Hungary’s leading talent promotion institution. Among others, Ralf Schuler, Former Chief Correspondent for Bild’s Berlin Parliamentary Bureau, Rod Dreher, Senior Editor at The American Conservative, Alvino-Mario Fantini, Editor-in-Chief and Publisher of The European Conservative and Richard Schmitt, Editor-in-Chief and Company Co-owner of Exxpress.at attended the meeting.

The internationally renowned media scholars, researchers, and journalists were mainly interested in the Hungarian position on the war in Ukraine. Orbán said that there was no need to overcomplicate matters, that an immediate ceasefire was needed, after which peace talks should begin immediately, but that these could take months or even years. He also spoke of the risk of an escalation of the war.

The prime minister was asked about the crisis of political leadership in Europe, about which he said that European leaders are often finding it difficult to identify and articulate their own interests.

Featured photo via Miniszterelnöki Sajtóiroda/Fischer Zoltán