During his visit to Germany last week, Hungarian Prime Minister Viktor Orbán gave an interview to the German newspaper Berliner Morgenpost. The conversation covered a range of topics, including the war in Ukraine and the prime minister’s evaluation of the European Union’s performance over the past five years.
In the context of the war in Ukraine, former US President Donald Trump was also mentioned in the interview, as he has a strong chance of retaking the White House after the November presidential election.
‘I have 100 per cent confidence in Donald Trump, in fact, 101 per cent. He was a man of peace,’
Viktor Orbán pointed out. He added that without a pro-peace US president, there is no chance of ending the war in Ukraine, as the US president is the only person in the world capable of making the crucial calls to Kyiv and Moscow.
The prime minister stressed that Russia’s invasion is totally unacceptable, but noted that he had neither the interests of the Ukrainians nor those of the Russians in mind. Instead, his primary concern is to end the war and reach a ceasefire. ‘After all, we are talking here about a new European security architecture in which we can live peacefully,’ Mr Orbán stated.
When asked whether Ukraine should give up territory in exchange for peace, PM Orbán responded that he was uncertain how Russia would react if the US leadership were genuinely committed to negotiating peace.
Another central theme of the discussion was the current state of the European Union, particularly the challenges and problems the integration is facing. Orbán pointed out that
the last five years were probably the worst in the history of the EU,
attributing this to the poor performance of the European Commission and the Brussels elite. He stressed: ‘If we Europeans want to keep up with the Americans, we Europeans must become great again.’
Orbán’s greatest passion, football, was also discussed. Referring to the ongoing European Championship, the prime minister jokingly said that Hungary should be given the chance to take revenge in a final and beat Germany. He was alluding to last Wednesday’s German-Hungarian group match, where the Hungarian national team lost to the Germans amid what many considered dubious refereeing decisions.
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