PM Orban: Globe's Overwhelming Majority Stands on the Side of Peace

Prime Minister Viktor Orban spoke to Hungary’s public broadcaster M1 in Rome about the papal audience. In the interview, PM Orban said that there exists a hidden, anti-war network across the globe, a community whose spiritual center is in the Vatican.

Hungarian Prime Minister Viktor Orban giving an interview to the M1 news channel in Rome on October 27  (Photo: MTI/PM's Press Office/Zoltan Fischer)

Viktor Orban visited the Vatican, where he was received in private audience by Pope Leo XIV received him in audience, and later gave an interview about his meetings. The Hungarian Prime Minister began by explaining that in today’s world there is a hidden anti-war network of contacts, a network of leaders known for making peace their top priority.

The spiritual center of the peace movement remains in the Vatican, Victor Orban says (Photo: HANDOUT/VATICAN MEDIA)

This network has two centers of gravity. One is a center of power, where the real political tools needed for peace, and for countering war, are held. Today, the focal point of that lies with the President of the United States. The previous American president was not in that position. The other center is spiritual one, a source of renewed energy, motivation, commitment, blessing, and encouragement for those political leaders who fight against war. And that center is here, in the Vatican, with the Holy Father himself,

PM Orban pointed out.

He recalled that on his third working day, Pope Leo XIV personally called President Zelensky. "So the spiritual center of the peace process continues to be the Vatican," the Hungarian Prime Minister said.

Viktor Orban went on to say that while in the Western world there are few leaders who openly stand up for peace, this is not the case globally.

If we take humanity as a whole, the overwhelming majority of the globe stands on the side of peace. The Arabs, all of them. The Far East, led by China, also. India as well. It is a Western illusion to think that those outside the West do not matter or play no significant role,

PM Orban said, noting that  even within the Western world, one should be aware that its stronger half, the United States, stands for peace. He continued by saying that

here in Central Europe, the peace camp is returning. Slovakia now has an anti-war government, Hungary has an anti-war government, and the Czechs are coming back to that side as well. I see signs of change in Poland, though time will tell more clearly. And as the economic difficulties grow in Western Europe, more and more countries will admit that we simply do not have the money to finance this war. I expect that, day by day, the anti-war camp will continue to grow.

Sharing details of the audience, Viktor Orban revealed that Pope Leo XIV  was presented with an old book about the life of Saint Gerard.

"This gave us an opportunity to speak about the history of Hungarian Christianity and its first chapter centered on Saint Gerard, Bishop and Martyr. This also led us to speak about Budapest. Although there was little need to explain much, since the Holy Father has already been to Budapest as a member of the delegation during the previous Pope’s visit. I would not say he knows us personally, but he has seen us. And he knows where Hungary is, he knows what Budapest is. So he was not receiving a guest from Mars," Viktor Orban said.

Budapest Will Host a Peace Summit!

Speaking about the planned peace summit in Budapest, where U.S. President Donald  Trump and Russian President Vladimir Putin are expected to meet, Hungary's Prime Minister explained that the timing is still unknown, but the negotiating delegations are in continuous contact. 

Let's us recall how the last major peace summit unfolded. It was in Sharm el-Sheikh, Egypt, where the Middle East peace agreement was concluded. Negotiations went on for a long time between the sides, including the Americans, and then on a Saturday they said they will sign on Monday.’That’s how these things happen. So peace or a peace agreement could be reached within two or three days once the moment comes,

PM Orban said, adding that talks are ongoing and that it can be taken as a fact that there will be a peace summit in Budapest.

We Focus on Hungary's Interest

Turning to sanctions on Russian oil imposed by the U.S. and the European Union, Orban said he does not believe that the products of a major raw-material producer can simply be excluded from the global market. 

Rules can be imposed. Sanctions are in place right now, but it is the nature of sanctions that they are always circumvented. We are now at the 19th [EU] sanctions package, which shows that the previous ones have not been successful. I think there are limits to what politics can achieve when it runs counter to economic logic,

he pointed out, highlighting that 

What matters to us is what happens to the Hungarian people. What happens to Hungarian households, to Hungarian fuel stations. That is what is important. We must fight to the end to ensure access to Russian oil and gas. First, because we cannot replace them from elsewhere and there would be shortages. Second, prices would rise.

Household expenses would double, vehicle costs too, he added.

"So it is a direct, fundamental issue for every Hungarian family that we maintain access to Russian energy and achieve peace, because when peace returns, energy prices will fall, and the economy will start up again."

PM Orban reiterated that today, sanctions and the war — especially the war — are blocking Europe’s economy, and by extension Hungary’s growth. "Everyone who wants to earn more and pay less for energy should wish for peace as soon as possible, and for Russian energy not to be forced out of the Hungarian system,” he said.

We Must Keep Hungary Free of Migrants

On the subject of migration, Viktor Orban said the key question is how to preserve Hungary as a migrant-free country despite pressure from Brussels. "Brussels has a decision that we should build or should have already built a refugee camp capable of accommodating thirty thousand migrants. And we should accept that if a large number of migrants arrive in Europe, the decision on their redistribution will be made in Brussels, and those who are sent to Hungary should be taken in, the Prime Minister recalled, and highlighted:

We resist. I reject both. We protest and we organize against it, and for that we are punished, having to pay one million euros per day to Brussels. But even so, we are better off paying this fine than allowing migrants in and ending up like Western European countries that can no longer find their way out of the crisis caused by mass migration, both in terms of public security and the economy.

Hungary’s Position Is Clear

On Ukraine’s EU membership, the Prime Minister sated:

Ukraine’s accession would mean bringing the war into the European Union and taking the money of Hungarians out. I do not believe anyone wants to see the war brought inside the EU’s territory, or their own money sent to Ukraine, especially when the EU has already run out of funds. There is no capital for growth or development.

He added that at the same time, the world is undergoing a massive technological transformation — artificial intelligence, robotics — all requiring vast amounts of capital. "If the money we have is sent to Ukraine, how will we keep pace with technological progress? No one has an answer to that. I am convinced that this massive wave of support for Ukraine and Ukraine’s EU membership is already fading, and it will disappear," he added.

Returning to the topic of peace in Ukraine, PM Orban pointed out that there will never be peace through direct Russia–Ukraine talks. 

If it were possible, it would already have happened. Peace can only come through the involvement of external powers. Someone must reach an agreement with Russia. It can be either the United States or Europe. Europe refuses to talk to Russia, which is a catastrophic mistake. The Americans are negotiating, and they will reach an agreement. They will decide about Ukraine’s future, its economic resources, and Europe’s security in that agreement. And we Europeans will pretend to applaud, as if that were good for us, while in reality we have no say in our own future,

he said, emphasizing that 

What we want is for European leaders to establish direct contact with the Russians, to start negotiations, and to conclude a Russia–Europe agreement on Europe’s security architecture and on Ukraine’s future as well. That is the first goal. The second is that after the war, relations with the remaining Ukraine should not be based on EU membership, but on a strategic partnership: we must not not bring war in and send money out, but always conclude agreements with Ukraine that are good for them but do not endanger us.

Political Competition Is Secondary

Turning to domestic matters, Viktor Orban reflected on Hungary’s October 23 national commemoration. "A national holiday is very important. It must be beautiful, grand, strong, joyful, forward-looking. People should draw strength from it. And I think the state ceremony, joined by the Peace March, was exactly what should come out of a community that believes in its future and loves its homeland.  I found it uplifting. And it  is secondary that there is a political competition in the background. That will be settled in the elections."

"We are a governing party. Our primary responsibility is to govern the country well. Most of our energy over four years must go into governance. Yet every fourth year there is an election, and we must prepare for it. If you do not prepare, you will lose. So we are gradually shifting from governance mode into campaign mode but even on the last day, we cannot make that shift completely, because we must continue to ensure the country’s security and functioning. Our task is to balance the responsibility of governing with preparation for elections. Being a governing party means being serious, responsible, and preparing accordingly.”

Cover photo:Hungarian Prime Minister Viktor Orban giving an interview to the M1 news channel in Rome on October 27  (Photo: MTI/PM's Press Office/Zoltan Fischer)