The war does not have and will not have winners

Already upon the eruption of the war, the Hungarian position was that the war in Ukraine can hardly be expected to have a winner; this war does not have and will not have a winner, Prime Minister Viktor Orbán stated on Kossuth Radio’s programme ‘Good morning, Hungary’ on Friday.

The Prime Minister said any western speculation about victory or defeat is in actual fact a false dilemma of the war.

He added that Russia keeps crashing into a wall because NATO is supplying Ukraine with weapons and money, and it only depends on the West and the Americans how much money they are prepared to spend on this.

On the other side there is Russia, a country of 140 million which is much bigger than Ukraine and has the world’s largest arsenal of weapons, he pointed out.

He said it is unimaginable that anyone should be able to defeat a nuclear power and that Russia would just sick back and watch as it is defeated; it will not resign itself to a military defeat.

Mr Orbán stressed we should be happy that there is no war here and we are strong enough to prevent ourselves from “being pressured” into the war. He also said America is conducting a war campaign in the territory of Hungary, and “this, too, would be well worth a mass,” meaning that “a foreign country is allowed to engage in a propaganda campaign in connection with an armed conflict here in our own country.”

However, he added, they want to pressure us into the war in vain, we will not take part in this war, “this is not our war, and we will do everything we can to achieve a ceasefire as soon as possible and for the commencement of peace talks because it is not possible to save the lives of many tens or hundreds of thousands of people in any other way.”

We are facing difficult weeks in the war in Ukraine, the Prime Minister continued, taking the view that the expected attack is the last major opportunity of the Ukrainians, the situation will become clearer afterwards, and it will become evident to many what military options remain.

Regarding the offensive, he said “once they fire this bullet,” in the ensuing clearer situation there will more scope for diplomatic efforts as well.

The Prime Minister stressed that “various interest groups always attach themselves” to a war, be they in the arms business, speculators or smugglers for whom such a conflict is a gold mine.

There are big western economic interest groups – with perhaps George Soros in the number one spot – which have always kept dreaming about somehow gaining a foothold in Ukraine – in which endeavour they have succeeded – and gaining access to Russia’s natural resources, he said.

He said many people in Europe want peace, but the current political trend and American influence leave no scope for the voice of peace, and the entire liberal media, too, are pro-war “almost in full agreement”.

Mr Orbán highlighted that the Vatican has resolved to mobilise its power, contacts and influence, and to try and put an end to the bloodshed, and in this “they are counting on us.” They must gather together the players, the countries where the voice of peace is louder and which are also prepared to speak up on the international scene.

We clearly stand for peace, the Prime Minister stated.

In the context of the papal visit, the Prime Minister observed that during those three days the country had been in a different state of mind; opposition and government-party debates as well as malicious designs were put to one side.

Hungary has a vested interest in a fully functional and successful Ukraine, and due to the Hungarians living there, it has an even stronger motivation for peace in Ukraine, the Prime Minister laid down.

Mr Orbán stressed that Hungary has more of an interest in peace than anyone else, first of all because it is a neighbour of Ukraine. “We have a vested interest in a fully functional and successful Ukraine, that adds to Hungary’s value; a war-torn, destroyed Ukraine that is in trouble, poses a risk and is shedding human lives by the hundreds of thousands also reduces Hungary’s attraction,” he said.

He pointed out that additionally, a part of Ukraine “is ancient Hungarian land which now belongs to Ukraine,” and over there, there are Hungarians as an indigenous community. Ukraine’s suffering is also the suffering of the Hungarians living there, he highlighted.

Therefore, Mr Orbán stressed, the Hungarians have twice the motivation, have a more robust interest in peace in Ukraine than any other people in Europe, and keep seeking opportunities to contributing to peace and are open to all peace missions.

Referring to the disputes related to Ukrainian grain, the Prime Minister pointed out that if the Central Europeans combine forces, they achieve their goals also in Brussels.

He recalled that Hungary believed the European Commission that Ukrainian grain would be transported to the starving people of Africa, but that is not what happened. Speculators brought it to Central Europe, sold it here, reduced prices and destroyed the prospects of Polish, Hungarian, Romanian and Bulgarian farmers. The Commission knew that this was going to happen, but did nothing, he said.

“The Commission has deceived us so many times and has abused its power so many times that we really should have expected that this was how it was going to end again,” he observed.

He highlighted that the Polish took the lead in Central Europe on this matter, and Hungary joined them. They fought successfully in Brussels, succeeding in having this practice terminated with immediate effect. At the same time, if Brussels is not prepared to take action, they will prevent the importation of these goods into Hungary within national competence, he added.

He said while Brussels promised EUR 100 million as an extraordinary grant for farmers, in his view, Hungary will not see a penny of that. “This is a lesson that teaches us that we must stand up for our own interests,” Mr Orbán pointed out.

The Prime Minister said it is a warning sign that the cancellation of a single customs tariff almost destroyed the farmers of five countries, and meanwhile, “everyone keeps talking about Ukraine’s EU membership.” “We must be careful with Ukraine’s European Union membership,” he said.

Regarding the significant rise in energy prices, Mr Orbán pointed out that Hungary was able to maintain the reduction of household energy bills. Prices will not spiral out of control and families will remain protected up to the average consumption, while the government is equally making efforts to help small and medium-sized businesses.

He also spoke about the introduction of the county and country travel passes which, he said, helped to eliminate the gap between Budapest and the countryside: the grants that previously only Budapest residents had access to will also be available to people in the countryside.

He stressed that while the war was not likely to end this year, the government would seek to maintain its family protection measures.

He said there is a delayed effect in the price of the energy bought from the Russians; there is a delay of two months in any decrease or increase in prices. In his view, the number one priority is to have enough energy for the heating season which will be realised through the replenishment of the country’s storage facilities.

Mr Orbán said the initiative of nine countries led by Germany – seeking to depart from the procedures laid down in the treaties of the European Union and to prevent Member States from pursuing foreign policies of their own – will be published shortly. Meaning that if a two-thirds majority of the EU decides to adopt a specific foreign policy decision, not a single Member State will be allowed to depart from it, he said.

He stressed: this means the elimination of an independent Hungarian foreign policy.

He said in the entire western world, efforts are being made to restrict the independence, powers and sovereignty of nations and to take as many affairs away from them as possible in order to then take care of them somewhere above their heads.

He stressed that this was a fault line because “we believe in a Europe of nations.” Strengthening nations is the only remedy, this is the basis of western culture and the western competitive advantage, this is what made the West great, but globalist forces now want to eliminate nations, he pointed out.

The Prime Minister said nations must keep their wits about them, especially nations of the size of Hungary, and “if we don’t want to be trampled upon, we must stand up for the concept of a Europe of nations.”

In reference to the Conservative Political Action Conference, he observed that this is why “our conservative friends” gathered here. This was a meeting in Budapest for people who are connected together by this thought and are willing to engage in a political battle with the global elite and the world of speculators.