Photo: Evgenia Novozhenina/ Reuters
Hungarian Prime Minister Viktor Orban has once again spoken out against Ukraine’s accession to NATO, calling it dangerous for the European Union. In an interview with the French TV channel LCI, the politician expressed the opinion that Russia does not have the strength to attack NATO countries, as it “cannot even defeat Ukraine “m.
“The Russians are too weak for that. They are unable to defeat Ukraine, so they cannot really attack NATO,” Orban said.
However, he stressed that Moscow “understands only the language of force”, and therefore Europe must strengthen its own defence capabilities. At the same time, he believes that Ukraine’s accession to NATO will only exacerbate the conflict with Russia.
“For us, Hungarians, and for the entire EU, it is not in our interest to have the threat of war. That is why Ukraine cannot be in NATO,” he stressed.
Orban also reiterated his call for dialogue with Russia, saying that a “strategic agreement” with the Kremlin is needed. He believes that such an agreement will only be possible with a strong Europe.
“Russia is a geopolitical reality. We need to negotiate with it, even if you don’t like it,” the Prime Minister said.
The politician once again called for the lifting of sanctions against Russia, saying that they are “destroying Hungary”, which, according to him, has already lost 20 billion euros due to the restrictions.
In response to a journalist’s remark about the possibility of Hungary’s withdrawal from the European Union, Orban replied:
“We cannot leave Europe because we are Europe.”
