Threat of World War No Exaggeration, Says PM Orbán

Prime Minister Viktor Orbán visited the studios of Radio Kossuth on Friday morning, where he gave an interview on the most important political developments of the week. Among the topics discussed were the war in Ukraine, inflation and price freezes.

For the Hungarian people, war is worrying and dangerous, and the threat of a world war is “no literary exaggeration”, the Prime Minister stated. He said that in Hungary it seems natural that if a war becomes bloodier and more brutal, with the number of casualties on both sides well over 100,000, it would force people to pause, and those who have supported the war from outside would also tend to move towards peace.

However, he added that, despite the increasing brutality of the war, the number of European leaders arguing for a ceasefire and peace is not growing. Instead, more and more resources are being made available to Ukraine, and we are close to the point where sending peacekeeping troops is an option.

Viktor Orbán also said that direct and indirect pressure and blackmail are commonplace, “they want to squeeze us into this war”. However, this is a matter of such gravity that it is impossible to bypass the national parliament. He stressed that

the question of “whether Hungary should take part in the war, and if so, in what form, or whether it should stay out” can only be decided unquestioningly in one place, and that is the Hungarian parliament.

For this reason, he said, it is significant that on Friday the Hungarian parliament will adopt a resolution in which it will stand by its peace position and call for a ceasefire. The Hungarian position is not about what kind of peace agreement should be concluded at the end of the negotiations, “our position is that there should be a ceasefire”, Viktor Orbán underlined. He added that we should get to the point where there should be a ceasefire, and then there is a chance to think up a framework for peace negotiations.

“We expect two things from the European Union; the first is to have lasting peace,” the Hungarian Prime Minister said, stressing that the EU should be a peace-building institution, but that it has become a pro-war institution. “The second thing we expect of the EU is that it should preserve the prosperity it has achieved, but in comparison war and sanctions are destroying the European economy”, Viktor Orbán pointed out.

The Hungarian Prime Minister believes that some countries have drifted into war against their will. According to Viktor Orbán,

there will soon be an increasing number of voices from member states speaking of the emotional, moral and financial exhaustion of pro-war positions, because everyone feels that if the common trust in Europe continues to weaken, this could have far-reaching consequences, regardless of the war.

On the economic situation, he said that the government’s aim is to achieve single-digit inflation by the end of the year. “Now retailers and food chains are competing with each other to see who can offer cheaper prices for which products,” he said, adding that as inflation comes down for food, the price caps that are still in place will be lifted.

Viktor Orbán said that price freezes are useful, they help to reduce inflation, but they also have side effects, as they are an artificial intervention in the normal flow of trade. Therefore, it is good if these price freezes are removed from the system and we return to a normal economic situation, he said, adding that as long as inflation is very high, this cannot be done.

Featured photo via Facebook/Viktor Orbán