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Mr Orbán stressed that in the preparations for every war there was a point of no return, and in his view, today, we were very close to that point.
Regarding the fact that France will provide fighter planes for Ukraine, while the Russians announced that they could supply weapons to any enemy of the United States, he said these are not just empty statements, but actions. In his view, Russian troops could soon arrive in Cuba as well as in conflicts in Africa which some Member States of the European Union and the United States are involved in “up to their necks,” and with this, the situation will become tenser everywhere.
The pro-war forces turned a conflict that started as a regional one into a European conflict, this then became an East-West conflict, and now it could emerge in all other parts of the world, too, he added, warning that this is how regional wars escalate into world wars.
He took the view that in the Sunday EP elections “we will be given a chance” to stop the war, then there will be a few tough months until the elections in the United States which “we have to survive.”
If the war does not escalate on the Russian-Ukrainian frontline any further until then, if Donald Trump returns in November, with a good European election result under our belt, we could forge a pan-western transatlantic peace coalition, and with that we could stop the war, he said.
According to the Prime Minister, there is a war psychosis in Europe, as a logical outcome of which military troops of Western European countries will arrive in the territory of Ukraine.
Mr Orbán said “only the blind can’t see” this war psychosis. In a best-case scenario, western soldiers would not be sent to the frontline, but “no one in their right mind can have any doubt” about the fact that this is exactly what will happen, he added.
He said he is observing “the poor Hungarian left-wingers” who are torn between war and peace because while the Hungarian people, including the supporters of the Left, want peace, those who “pay the Left, from Soros through Brussels all the way to Washington” want war.
In his view, they want to resolve this contradiction – the same as they did in the case of migration – by saying that this issue is not that dangerous at all. “Like hell it’s not,” he stressed.
The Prime Minister said if someone looks back upon the past two years, they can easily see that “we are moving towards an open conflict at an ever faster pace.” First, westerners only sent helmets, but not weapons capable of extinguishing human lives. They said sanctions concerning the energy sector were out of the question, while “today we’re severed from Russian energy sources,” he explained.
Those who claim that there is no direct war threat deceive the people, he added.
According to the Prime Minister, attempts are being made to silence the pro-peace forces, mentioning as examples the assassination attempt against Slovak Prime Minister Robert Fico, the suspension of reports on the Peace March on the Internet and the “attack” on Fidesz-KDNP’s anti-war hoardings.
Mr Orbán also found objectionable the European decision that the Member States are not allowed to receive Russian broadcasts. The Hungarian people and the citizens of the other countries of the EU are barred from the possibility of checking out Ukrainian or Russian news, and then deciding where in their opinion the truth may lie, he pointed out.
He said there are preparations under way for a war, a direct military conflict. However, Russia is not a third-division country – Russia has the largest support base that is necessary for waging a war – and there will be a response to every western step which will in turn escalate the war, he explained.
We are in the eleventh hour, we are only centimetres from reaching the point of no return. We must take action now. We have three days, and after that another four months, he said, referring to the US presidential elections.
He also spoke about the statement Robert Fico made after the attempt on his life. According to Mr Orbán, in the Slovak prime minister’s speech the word ‘Slovakia’ could easily have been replaced with the word ‘Hungary,’ and the speech helps to understand what is going on behind the scenes. “We’re facing a multitude of intrusion attempts,” he stated.
In his view, “there is a projection of power” on the part of western countries, the United States in particular, they are financing political opponents, organisations which claim to be non-governmental, but are in actual fact political, and the pro-war media.
He said most Western European countries have no defences against these attempts, but Hungary built a defence system against America and Brussels’ power projection attempts at the time of the migration crisis, and “at the heart” of this system lies a very strong and stable government majority.
Mr Orbán highlighted that Hungary must stay out of a Ukraine NATO mission under any circumstances.
If we put as much as our little finger into it, including the planning phase, we will be sucked into it, the Prime Minister said, stressing that “when NATO well and truly launches its military mission in Ukraine, then control over the territory of Hungary and the Hungarian military units offered to NATO for NATO’s involvement is removed from national competence to the NATO commander.”
If that happens, we lose or hand over a very important part of our sovereignty, and from there on, we will not be able to keep Hungarian troops out of the war, the Prime Minister stated.
The Prime Minister said we are very close to the point when we opt out of all NATO operations in preparation for the mission in Ukraine. He added that this step would have to be negotiated with the incumbent and prospective secretary general of the organisation.
We must make it clear that Hungary has the right to insist on adhering to NATO’s Treaty that we joined, Mr Orbán said, recalling that the document defines the organisation as a defence alliance.
No one can force us to take part in military missions outside the territories of NATO Member States, nor to contribute funds to such missions, he added, mentioning that NATO demands USD 40 billion annually from the Member States for this purpose, but so far he has not been prepared to approve this.
Mr Orbán stressed that intrusions jeopardising sovereignty are made possible by the fact that western coalition governments can be easily divided due to the different interests of their members, but we are able to protect the country’s sovereignty as in Hungary, there is “one camp, one flag,” and we have learnt how to handle the pressure coming from Brussels.
At the same time, he indicated that in the elections we must reinforce the government’s aspirations seeking to protect sovereignty, with which “we don’t allow Hungary to be pushed into the war.”
He also stressed that, regardless of the Sunday election results, the Hungarian government “will continue to stand for peace as long as possible; the only question is how long,” and that is related to the results.
“If we receive confirmation, we will be able to persevere more easily and for longer. If we don’t receive confirmation, even then we will undertake to perform our duty, and then we’ll see how long our strength will last,” he said.
In his words, the question of staying out of the war is a question of strength. Right now, you need strength not in order to take part in the war because that is the easiest thing to do; all you have to do is swim with the tide. Going against the tide and staying out, that is a truly difficult task that takes strength, he added, mentioning as an example that at the beginning of both world wars, Hungarian leaders “lacked strength, not intention.”
Mr Orbán said the difference between the era in which the two world wars began and today is that now the people have the possibility to decide on the issue of war in fundamentally free and fair elections, rather than the decision being made at negotiating tables.
For those who want to stay out, a mandate derived from the people’s will is the most powerful means, and so there is a connection between this Sunday’s election results, the government’s strength and staying out of the war, he said.
The Prime Minister recalled that we had already lost way too much as a result of the war. The people are perhaps less aware that they are financing the war through no will of their own; the prices that they are paying in the shops now are war prices, he warned.
As a result of the war, interest rates, transportation costs and energy prices have gone up, and additionally, Brussels has made matters worse with a completely flawed system of sanctions, he pointed out.
As a further problem, Hungary must continually pay sums into the EU budget which Brussels then sends on to Ukraine.
“What I fight for most frequently is to prevent the funds that we’re entitled to from the European Union being sent to Ukraine. My position is that if they do want to send them money, it’s only fair that they shouldn’t send the Hungarian people’s money, but rather a bit of everyone’s money, or everyone should contribute dedicated funds for the purpose,” he stated.
He also spoke about NATO’s demand that every year we should commit to USD 40 billion. However, it always soon transpires that the money that appears to be enough today is not enough, “the war devours everything,” he observed.
Getting out of the war now would mean that the victims of the fights to date have died for nothing, and the pro-war forces cannot own up to this. Therefore, stopping half-way is out of the question, they keep throwing fresh money, fresh resources after the already lost money and resources, he warned.
Speculators, with George Soros and his associates in the lead, are making money on the war hand over fist, while governments – in accordance with their interests – are only too eager to supply arguments to the effect that now that we have invested this much in the war, we should not just let it all go to waste, let us put some more money into it. “And this will never end, or ends only when people in the millions die,” he said in summary.
Mr Orbán also spoke about the re-acquisition of a majority stake in the Liszt Ferenc Airport, stressing that we have re-acquired an asset of which there is only one, and something like this must never be handed over to someone else, it must always be kept.
He highlighted that in times of war, it is always better for a country to have its only appreciable international airport under direct Hungarian control. “This is almost a monopoly, meaning that we have no other like this,” he said.
He added that the acquisition of the airport by the Hungarian State has increased the wealth of every Hungarian citizen. According to the plans, they will be able to increase the value of the airport fast, and with this, the asset value falling on one citizen, too, will increase.
To this end, they teamed up with the world’s largest airport operator, the French Vinci. “It’s best if the state doesn’t become involved in operational matters. If it has ownership – which is important – it should involve professionals who are good at this business,” he said.
We have a plan to later also involve the Qataris, but we will want to retain a majority stake under any circumstances, the Prime Minister laid down.
