In the context of the peace summit, the Prime Minister said “we were there because we had a place there.”
He said since Donald Trump returned, “a world network” has formed around him, comprised of state leaders who seek to find the possibility of a peaceful solution in the event of every armed conflict. These people gather around the US President because there is strength and there is capability there, he observed.
Hungary, too, is part of this network, he said, stating in continuation that when it comes to the cause of peace – from Ukraine to the West Bank – the Hungarians can be counted upon.
“This network has not been announced, it has not been officially formed, but we know about each other that there are now more than a dozen countries in the world whose leaders help each other and help the Americans with the cause of peace,” he pointed out.
He said pulling the Gaza agreement off required a very fortunate constellation.
Mr Orbán said however surprising it may be, this success also required humility on the part of the US President who is not famous for humility; without the humility of the Americans for service, this agreement would never have materialised.
In answer to a question relating to the absence of President of the European Commission Ursula von der Leyen, the Prime Minister said the President of the Commission is an employee of the leaders of the Member States, “we represented her, her presence was not required.”
In response to the suggestion that the US President seems sure of the Hungarian Prime Minister’s 2026 election victory, Mr Orbán said “good for him.” He said you cannot see the depths of Hungarian politics from outside, here, every election – despite the two-thirds victories in the end – is a major, often “very tough, brutal clash.”
There is no foregone conclusion when it comes to elections. Those who think that it is easy to win elections here do not know the Hungarians, do not know Hungary and do not know the history of elections, he underlined. He added: you must always fight with much blood and sweat, sometimes you must fight for the people’s trust until the very last minute. At the same time, keeping the Hungarian people’s trust is perhaps the hardest thing in the world, he pointed out.
The Prime Minister said he will be meeting with the US President shortly, there is already a date, and the parties agreed on 80 per cent of the topics of the talks. If they agree on the remaining 20 per cent, then they will make a joint decision with the Americans about when to announce the meeting.
He said the topics of the talks are fundamentally about the economy, one of the “toughest battle issues” is the agreement on the avoidance of double taxation.
“We have repaired political relations” with the United States, this year, eight major investments came to Hungary from America, and another three or four significant projects will be coming, “despite the fact that America is in the process of going home.” We are working on an economic package, the Prime Minister stated.
He said everyone has already betrayed the US President minimum once, Hungary is the only exception.
He stressed that after Donald Trump’s election defeat, other states had sought favours with the Biden Administration. Hungary did not do so, and could not cooperate with the new leadership of the United States because there was no agreement between the parties on migration, the protection of families and peace, meaning on the most important issues.
Mr Orbán also spoke about the fact that the pressure on Hungary in connection with Ukraine was intensifying in the European Union, and took the view that in the war Donald Trump would have restored peace a long time ago had “the Europeans not continually inflamed the Ukrainian president behind the scenes,” going against the US President’s policy.
If there was unity in the West, there would already be peace on the Ukrainian-Russian front, the Prime Minister said, stating that the Europeans do not have the humility it takes to create peace.
European leaders want to continue the war, they have a positively pro-war position, they have a war strategy, a war plan, they talk about this openly and are working to pull President Trump over from the side of peace to the side of the continuation of the war, he laid down.
He mentioned that “the Americans have quit the Russo-Ukrainian war,” they are not giving any more money, while the Europeans are financing Ukraine.
Regarding preparations for next week’s EU summit, he said they are also having talks “laterally” because they would like to clarify with Moscow whether – if the European Union lays its hands on frozen Russian assets – the counter-measures to be introduced in response would include the possible freezing of the assets of Hungarian businesses.
“If Hungarian businesses face retaliation in Russia because Hungary, too, consents to the utilisation of Russian assets seized in Europe, I will naturally not support such a measure because it means that Hungary will sustain losses on this,” the Prime Minister stated.
Regarding the signature collection ahead of the summit, the Prime Minister observed that they needed one and a half to two million supporters “in order for the word of the Hungarian prime minister to have weight.” He encouraged everyone to join the campaign; everyone “who would not like to see the Ukrainians in the European Union, who would not like to see our youths in a war in Ukraine, and who doesn’t want the Hungarians’ money to go to Ukraine.”
Mr Orbán stressed that with its admission to the EU, Ukraine would be bring the war into the community with it, and “it’s not Ukraine that decides when it’s at war with Russia, the Russians have a say in that with minimum the same weight.” He added that in the event of their admission, “all the money would go to Ukraine.”
He also mentioned that Europe must have talks directly with the Russians about Europe’s future, security, economic and energy systems, the Russo-Ukrainian border and the stationing of soldiers and weapons.
