When in a war the military goals are unclear, it is very easy to lose your way … In the Russia-Ukraine war, it is not clear on either side what the military goals are
– said Prime Minister Viktor Orbán on Kossuth Radio’s programme “Good morning, Hungary”. According to the Prime Minister, this applies to Ukraine as well: they are of course defending their freedom, but it is not clear what this means. “Will the Ukrainians hit the territory of Russia with military strikes; how far back do they want to push the Russian troops; will the Crimean Peninsula come under siege or not?” asked the Prime Minister.
He went on to say that instead of localizing the conflict, the war has become pan-European in nature, dragging others into the war, but
we also made the mistake of not making it clear for ourselves where the limit to providing assistance for Ukraine lies
– he asserted.
Ukraine’s NATO membership problematic and irrational
As the Prime Minister stated, if one is familiar with the numbers, it is clear how much Russia spends every year on developing their weapons; if you add up the military spending of the European NATO states, it far exceeds the Russian sum. And if you add in the USA’s spending, reality sets in. “Today, nobody has even got a chance of winning if they attack NATO,” he pointed out. He continued that,
If they attack us, we are obliged to help each other. That is why Ukraine’s NATO membership is problematic.
“NATO is a defence organization, not a war alliance, that’s why Ukraine’s NATO membership is irrational,” he underlined.
Regarding the Hungarian position, the Prime Minister asserted that: not only are we morally and politically right, but also logical. He said that people have a certain natural instinct to start cheering for or sympathizing with one side in a war.
A politician however, should not allow themselves to do this, especially when it turns out that nobody can actually win this war.
“The West has mobilized such immense resources in support of Ukraine, that defeating it has become impossible; meanwhile Russia cannot be defeated either,” he stated. That is exactly why the logical conclusion is to establish a ceasefire. To achieve that however, peace and negotiations are necessary.
The point of the Hungarian position is to have a ceasefire as soon as possible,
– asserted the Prime Minister. He believes it is important that Hungarians know that we are not isolated in our position supporting peace. He added that the UN accepted a pro-peace statement the other night.