Hungarian Prime Minister Viktor Orban said on Tuesday that Russia has won the war in Ukraine.
Orban made the comments ahead of a summit between US President Donald Trump and Russian President Vladimir Putin scheduled for Friday.
Orban, who has been in power since 2010, has faced criticism from some European leaders for maintaining his government’s close ties with Russia and opposing military aid to Ukraine. Meanwhile, his cabinet is also struggling to revive the economy from the shock of inflation.
Orban has maintained close relations with Putin even after Russia began its military operation in Ukraine in February 2022. Last Monday, he was the only European Union leader who did not sign a joint statement; which said that Ukraine should have the freedom to determine its future.
“We are talking now as if the war is still going on; but it is not. The Ukrainians have lost the war. Russia has won this war,” Orbán said in an interview with the Patriot YouTube channel.
We are talking now as if the war is still going on; but it is not. The Ukrainians have lost the war. Russia has won this war.
Viktor Orbán, Prime Minister of Hungary
“The only question now is when and under what circumstances will the Westerners who are on Ukraine’s side admit that this has happened and what the consequences will be,” Orbán added.
Hungary imports most of its energy from Russia. The country has refused to send weapons to Ukraine. Orbán has also strongly opposed Ukraine’s accession to the European Union, arguing that it would harm Hungarian farmers and the wider economy.
Orbán was the only EU leader to not sign a joint statement on Monday that said Ukraine should have the freedom to decide its future.
Orbán said that Europe missed the opportunity to negotiate with Putin during the tenure of former US President Joe Biden. Now Europe’s future risks being decided without its participation.
“If you are not at the negotiating table, you are on the menu,” said Viktor Orbán. He said that the reason for his partial opposition to the EU’s joint statement on Ukraine was that it makes Europe look “ridiculous and pathetic.”
By “you are on the menu,” Orbán meant that you would become the subject of the discussion rather than part of it; which is not good at all.
Orbán also said, “When two leaders – the US and Russia – sit down for a discussion together, and you are not invited there; then you should not rush for the phone, do not run around, do not shout from the outside.”
By this statement, Orbán means that if Europe is not invited to a meeting (such as between the US and Russia) where major political or diplomatic decisions are made, then Europe will have no role; Rather, they will simply be victims of that decision.
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