Hungary’s Prime Minister Viktor Orbán warned the European Union about its reckless military gamble in Ukraine. “The European Union will have to pay the price of this military gamble and we will suffer from it as well,” he was quoted as saying by the Agerpres news agency, reported TASS. Orbán was speaking at the closing ceremony of a traditional summer university organized in Romania by Hungarian NGOs and organizations of the Hungarian minority in Romania. According to the organizers, more than 7,000 people gathered to listen to Orbán’s speech.
Among other things, Orbán pointed to the futility of U.S./EU sanctions on Russia. He explained that Russia’s “economic vitality is outstanding. There is no question about it. Russia has learned its lessons from the sanctions” that were imposed following Crimea’s reunification with Russia in 2014, he said, according to the Magyar Nemzet newspaper, reported TASS. “They have the necessary equipment and flexibility. They have developed the ability to adapt. Russia is different from how we saw it and how we were made to see it…. Russia is described as a harsh neo-Stalinist country. This image has no basis in reality.” Instead, the EU sanctions “harm fundamental European interests, raise energy prices and make the European economy uncompetitive.”
In reality, Russia is also gaining support in the rest of the world. He explained: “Over the past two years, there has been a 180-degree turn. The West gave orders to the world to stand against Russia and support the West. But now we are at the phase where everyone is gradually taking Russia’s side.” Russia is supported by “the largest countries in the world,” including China and India, as well as Iran. “It is surprising that NATO member Türkiye and the Muslim world suddenly saw Russia as a partner rather than an enemy.”
