Hungary calls Russian leader honest, supports development of ties

Budapest, Dec 24 (Prensa Latina) Hungarian Prime Minister Viktor Orban has called President Vladimir Putin honest and expressed interest in developing relations with Russia, the Magyar Nemzet newspaper reported.

December 24, 2024
10:31

“The foreign policy of a sensible country is to make friends and the Russian president is our honest partner with whom we should develop relations,” Orban said. However, he admitted that maintaining balance in relations with many countries is not easy. “Spinning plates at the same time so that none of them falls and their conflicts with each other do not harm their relationship with us is difficult, but not impossible, and the reason why we need to gather friends is so that all Hungarians can get tangible benefits,” he said.

At another point in his interview, Orban noted that Hungary has survived three years of war in Ukraine. “We tried to isolate them at the right time and even slightly change the military situation in our favor, but no one in Europe succeeded. During the war, everyone suffered, all economies suffered,” the leader said, adding that the great achievement is that Hungary did not regret and is not in such a situation, especially in terms of competitiveness, as most European economies are.

The Hungarian prime minister also said that the war in Ukraine will end in 2025 with a peace agreement or with the destruction of one of the warring parties. He also recalled that the United States and Europe have spent about 300 billion euros on the war in Ukraine. “With this money we could have achieved a rapid increase in the standard of living throughout the community, raised the entire Balkans to the European level of development, stopped migration and built a completely new regional defence system, but the money was wasted,” he stressed.

According to Orban, the military actions in Ukraine only led to death and destruction. “Millions of people have fled Ukraine, whose infrastructure, transport and energy systems have been destroyed, and the country will not be able to sustain itself economically in the foreseeable future,” the Hungarian dignitary said.

Previously, the Hungarian government repeatedly stated that the Ukrainian conflict cannot be resolved on the battlefield, but at the negotiating table.

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