It is Demeaning to the European Spirit to Adopt Other Countries’ Foreign Policies

The United States is our friend and an important ally, but we will not allow it to “squeeze” Hungary into the war, Prime Minister Viktor Orbán said on Friday on Radio Kossuth’s Good Morning, Hungary program. Warning of the danger of an escalation of the war in Ukraine, he stressed that if there is a world war, there will be a nuclear war.

On the subject of the punitive measures announced by the US embassy, the Prime Minister said that these were not sanctions against Hungary: the list of 34 individuals published by Washington included one Hungarian, but also Cypriots, Austrians and Liechtensteiners. This was basically a US action targeting financial professionals, he said. He added that the government had never agreed with the sanctions, but they did not deny anyone’s right to impose them, and they were noted and respected.
He stressed that the Budapest-based International Investment Bank could have played a major role in the development of Central European economies, but since the war it was clear that the bank’s options were shrinking, and the current sanctions had “ruined it”, making it impossible for it to operate. Under these circumstances, Hungary’s participation in the Bank’s further work has become meaningless, and its delegates have been withdrawn, and Hungary has left the International Investment Bank, Mr Orbán said.

He continued that the United States is our friend and also an important ally, primarily in terms of military policy, as we are members of a common military defense alliance. There were also philosophical similarities between the two countries, and that “we share the same fundamental beliefs”:

we also believe that people need freedom and a market economy to live in peace and prosperity. Christianity is also a common ground, and economic relations show a clear picture of a success story.

Everything is in place for good and friendly relations, he stressed, while noting that America is not united, that it is today a more divided country, and that there are great partisan political differences. When there is a Democrat in the White House, relations are more difficult, when there is a Republican, they are easier, the Prime Minister said, adding that the reason for this is that the Republican viewpoint is closer to the Hungarian government’s viewpoint on fundamental issues of modern politics.
Hungary cooperates with the government elected by the American people, and in America ambassadors are typically political appointees, so “we have to take note that there is an ambassador who is close to the Democratic Party”.
At the same time, he said,

it is unusual that this representation of American opinion is being done through street posters by the American embassy.

Moreover, even though the posters say “Russians go home”, we Hungarians have sent them home. “We have sorted this out”, Hungarians do not need to be reminded of their own history, he added. He also said the United States had not given up its plan to “squeeze” everyone into a belligerent alliance, but we would not allow ourselves to be squeezed into a war. He pointed out that the map shows that the United States is a safer place, but the same cannot be said for the Carpathian Basin. The risks of world politics look different from Berehovo (Ukraine) or Budapest than from America.

He warned that if there is a world war, there will be a nuclear war. He stressed that every week the situation worsens and the risk of escalation increases. According to the latest news, the British are planning to deliver depleted uranium shells to the Ukrainian front, while Russia is deploying tactical nuclear weapons in Belarus. This is not an atomic bomb, of course, but it brings us one step closer to the world of nuclear weapons,” he pointed out.

“The fear that is at work in all of us that the further escalation of the war may sooner or later involve the use of some kind of nuclear weapon is not a literary exaggeration, so if there is a world war, then there will be a nuclear war, and God save us from that”, Mr Orbán said.
He said that the pro-war left enjoyed the support of only a fraction of the population, while the position of the national government, which prioritizes peace and security, had an overwhelming majority in Hungary. He added that in dialogue with the left, he would rather seek to find points of agreement.
In the radio interview, Prime Minister Viktor Orbán also said that Ukraine is a financially non-existent country, and that the European Union – including the Hungarians – is financing the running of the country, an approach that that is destroying Europe.

He added that

we are not yet at the point where European public opinion is forcing European leaders to change their position on the war and sanctions policy, but the moment of truth will come.

Because what is happening now is destroying Europe. It is destroying its security, it is destroying its economy, he stressed. With tens of billions of euros missing from the European economy, this cannot continue indefinitely, he said.
Mr Orbán said the French President’s visit to China was of great importance, stressing that it had given rise to a “different voice”, which was not looking at where and what potential enemies there were, but was looking for potential partners. This is similar to the Hungarian way of thinking, the prime minister said, pointing out that the aim of Hungarian foreign policy is also to gather friends and not enemies.
He said that French President Macron’s comments on European strategic autonomy also point in the same direction, when he says that it is demeaning to the European spirit to simply adopt other countries’ foreign policies, and that Europe must start from its own interests.

Featured Photo: Facebook Orbán Viktor