Hungarian Prime Minister Viktor Orban met Slovak Prime Minister Robert Fico in Bratislava on Tuesday for a working lunch. After the meeting, Viktor Orban said that ending the war remains in Hungary's interest. Brussels continues to want to finance the war, which is very bad news for the European economy, PM Orban said, pointing out that the sanctions policy is causing member states, including Hungary, to lose a lot of money.
We need low energy prices, but Brussels is driving up energy costs, which families and businesses cannot afford, Viktor Orban remarked, adding that political decisions are needed to address this issue.
The danger will persist even after the war, Viktor Orban emphasized. To safeguard the interests of nation-states, regional cooperation is essential. PM Orban highlighted that Hungarian–Slovak relations are now in better shape than they have been for a long time, whether in terms of strategic partnerships or trade. He also mentioned that connecting energy networks would allow for a significant increase in gas supplies to Slovakia. PM Orban invited the Slovak prime minister for an official visit to Hungary.
Following the meeting, Robert Fico emphasized that Slovakia could count on Hungary in the field of energy and expressed interest in expanding cooperation in nuclear energy. He underscored the importance of cooperation in energy policy and recalled his negotiations in Turkey, where an agreement was reached that Slovakia could receive Russian gas through the TurkStream pipeline. Thanks to this, Russian gas can arrive in Slovakia via Hungary.
Ukraine's behavior is unacceptable
In response to a journalist's question, Viktor Orban said that the way Kyiv rejected to negotiate a solution to the issue of halting gas transits is unacceptable.
I’d like to point out that Kyiv is no longer in the saddle so securely that it can afford to do so. Changes are taking place in the world that work against Kyiv and weaken its position. If they remain aggressive and hostile, they will lose. In the end, we will get angry and we will take retaliatory measures. The way in which the Ukrainians are trying to control and shape relations with Central European countries today is unacceptable. We will give them respect, but we expect them to give us respect and if we raise a serious issue, to be available to discuss it,
Viktor Orban said. "I'd like to underline that whatever Brussels says about Ukraine's EU membership, it will require a unanimous decision of the member states, and Hungary and Slovakia will decide on that too. Despite the Ukrainians believing that the current leadership in Brussels is favoring them, we are the member s, and they are the applicant. There should be no confusion about the positions. The Ukrainians cannot behave as if Bratislava and Budapest should dance to their tune. That is impossible."
The Ukrainians have lost one-fifth of their country, and their industry is in ruins. They are unable to sustain themselves, yet they behave as though they can dictate to us. The reality is that they are asking for help. But proper conduct is required when asking for something,
PM Orban stated. If Ukraine wants good for itself, it should settle its relations with Slovakia and Hungary, show respect, and behave as a candidate country for EU membership should, he added.
This may have been different under the US Democratic administration, but that is over now. A new era of peace is coming, a different situation. Everyone must reassess their position. My impression is that Kyiv has not yet come to terms with the fact that the balance of power has radically changed and that the countries of Central Europe must be taken seriously. Otherwise, not only us, but also Kyiv will suffer, so I continue to fully support Prime Minister Robert Fico's efforts to resolve the gas transit issue through negotiations, which is an extremely complex problem,
he emphasized. Viktor Orban went on to point out that Ukraine’s accession to the EU would ruin Hungary, saying:
The EU has no money to admit Ukraine, and we do not want to ruin our homeland.
Viktor Orban emphasized that Ukraine’s accession to the European Union would destroy tens of thousands of Hungarian agricultural businesses, impact hundreds of thousands of families, and require the EU’s current development funds to be diverted entirely to Ukraine. "In my opinion, it’s worth discussing Ukraine’s EU membership, but this is a process that cannot be concluded for many years, even decades. Today, there are no answers to questions about how European life would function or how we could protect the standard of living of Slovak, Hungarian, Polish, or German citizens with Ukraine as part of the European Union," he added.
Viktor Orban: Ukrainian NATO membership is not on the agenda
Regarding NATO, the Hungarian PM stated unequivocally that Ukraine’s membership in NATO is currently not on the agenda and will not be for the foreseeable future. Responding to a journalist’s question, he explained that there will never be unanimous agreement on this issue.
He went on to describe discussions around Ukraine’s NATO membership as a
communications ploy. There's no point in discussing this. The reason behind the Russia–Ukraine war is that the Russians made it clear they are prepared, even at the cost of war and military aggression, to prevent Ukraine from joining NATO. The question is not whether we want to grant NATO membership to Ukraine but whether we want to go to war with Russia. Ukraine’s NATO membership would mean an immediate, direct, full-scale war with Russia. Hungary does not want this. We will not send soldiers or weapons. Hungary does not consider this our war, and that’s why everything must be done to achieve peace. Ukrainian NATO membership equals war,
Viktor Orban stated.
