Once again, Orban refuses to call Putin an aggressor
Viktor Orban (Photo: Alex Brandon/Pool via REUTERS)
Hungarian PM Viktor
Orban refused to call Russian dictator Vladimir Putin an aggressor and
described the Russo–Ukrainian war as “a quarrel between two Slavic peoples.”
“This is a war that in no way concerns us, this is not our war,” Orban told British right-wing broadcaster GB News on March 18.
“It’s a war between brothers, between two Slavic peoples — Russians and Ukrainians. I am Hungarian. We are not related to this.”
Asked whether he considered Putin an aggressor, Orban answered no, though he acknowledged that “from the standpoint of international law this [the war in Ukraine] is an aggression.”
Orban reiterated Kremlin talking points by saying that it started because of Western policy. He said Ukraine’s status “for two decades was that of a buffer-state,” and that Russia had “made it clear that NATO’s approach toward its border would be a cause for war.” Notably, Orban’s analysis did not include the Ukrainian constitution explicitly prohibiting membership in any military blocs, including NATO, until after Russia invaded Ukraine’s Crimea in 2014. Neither did he explain why Moscow never objected to Finland joining NATO after the 2022 invasion of Ukraine.
“We ignored Russia’s position; we effectively changed
Europe’s security system without agreeing to it with Russia, and they responded
with war. That’s the story as I understand it,” Orban claimed.
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