There is no war in Ukraine, Viktor Orbán said at a government briefing on Thursday.
Asked during his visit to Beijing why he called the war in Ukraine a military operation, he replied:
Because it is a military operation as long as there is no declaration of war between the two countries. Let us rejoice as long as there is no war. Because if there is a war, there is a general mobilisation, and I don’t wish that on anyone.
He also stated that it was too early to talk about the specific content of possible peace agreements, as a ceasefire must first be agreed upon and the nature of the peace negotiators must be understood. Orbán said:
Europe faces the danger that if it does not negotiate, the Russians will have to negotiate with the Americans to the detriment of Europe.
Since the beginning of the conflict, Hungary has consistently opposed sanctions on Russian energy resources and the sending of weapons to Ukraine. In March 2022, the Hungarian parliament passed a resolution banning arms shipments to Ukraine from the country’s territory. Last week, Orbán blocked a 50 billion euro ($54.8 billion) EU financial aid package for Ukraine.
