Supporters of Hungarian Prime Minister Viktor Orban attend a rally during Hungary›s National Day celebrations, which also commemorate the 1848 Hungarian Revolution against the Habsburg monarchy, in Budapest, Hungary, March 2022 ,15. REUTERS/Marton Monus
speech in Romania on July 23. A strategy that fosters dialogue and negotiation – one that focuses not on siding with the Ukrainians, but rather positions itself between both Kyiv and Moscow. The goal should not be about Ukraine’s winning the war but rather bringing about a peaceful solution. Orban reiterated his country will not support the war efforts in Ukraine and emphasized that his country’s economy relies heavily on Russian gas imports. He refuses to support embargoes on Russian gas imports. Orban says since Russia wants security guarantees, talks should be held between Washington and Moscow, not Ukraine. According to him, «Only Russian-U.S. talks can put an end to the conflict because Russia wants security guarantees” which only Washington can give. Here, Orbán, echoing the Russian official rhetoric, said the reason for the war against Ukraine is that the West refused to negotiate on Russian security guarantees. He went further to say that if Donald Trump and Angela Merkel had still been in office, the war would not have happened. Viktor Orbán has been in power since 2010 making him the longest serving prime minister
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Hungary is on 6th place with 11.6, meaning approximately %65 of its oil and %85 of its gas requirements come from the Kremlin-controlled Gazprom corporation. in Europe. Back in April 2022, he won his fourth straight election and promised to protect Hungarians from the effects of the war. The bitter winter is only a few months away and there are serious concerns that Putin may turn off the gas taps in the EU, leaving millions of citizens in the EU to bear the heavy brunt of the sharp rise in the cost of living. For Ukrainians and many in the EU, Orban is a betrayer. However, for many in Hungary he is a realist and a pragmatic leader who puts his people’s interests first. The question is whether the bitter winter and the continued rise of living costs in the EU will keep the bloc united or we are going to see more countries normalizing their ties with Russia.