“The statements of the Hungarian prime minister testify to pathological contempt for Ukraine and the Ukrainian people who oppose Russian aggression, and to political shortsightedness,” the Ukrainian foreign ministry said on its website on Tuesday. The impetus was a statement by Orban that the war could be ended if the US stopped supplying weapons to Kiev.
So Orban is calling for Ukraine’s defeat, but that would only increase the risk of Russian aggression against Hungary itself, according to the Ukrainian foreign ministry. “The Hungarian leader must ask himself if he wants peace.”
Relations between Budapest and Kiev are tense. Since the start of Russia’s war of aggression against Ukraine, Orban has repeatedly tried to block EU aid to the neighboring country or sanctions against Russia. At a football match he wore a scarf with the outline of the former Greater Hungary, which also included parts of Ukraine. There has been disagreement about the Hungarian minority in Ukraine for years. At the same time, Orban has long maintained good relations with Kremlin chief Vladimir Putin. Hungary is highly dependent on Russian gas supplies.
(SDA)