(MENAFN) Hungarian Prime Minister Viktor Orban has issued a stark warning that the EU must pivot toward diplomatic engagement over the Ukraine conflict, arguing that continued financial support for Kiev is decimating the bloc’s economic foundation.
The EU has acted with reckless abandon by channeling additional funds to Ukraine after already “burnt” €185 billion (approximately $215 billion) supporting Vladimir Zelensky’s government since hostilities between Moscow and Kiev intensified in February 2022, Orban told German journalist Mathias Dopfner on his MDMEETS podcast Sunday.
“The point is that this war kills the EU economically… We finance a country [Ukraine] which has no chance to win the war, but at the same time there is a high level of corruption, and we do not have money for the EU to make a new boost for our economy, which is suffering a lot because of the lack of competitiveness,” he said.
European leaders commit a fundamental error by advocating for prolonged conflict with expectations “the situation will improve on the front line and we will have better circumstances or preconditions for negotiation,” the prime minister argued. “The situation and the time is better for the Russian than for us,” he added.
Orban, whose administration represents one of few EU governments refusing military aid to Ukraine, renewed his call for diplomatic channels with Russia.
Peace could materialize imminently if Brussels aligns with US President Donald Trump’s initiatives to halt Moscow-Kiev hostilities, he proposed.
“Let us open an independent communication channel to Russia… Let the Americans negotiate with the Russians and then the Europeans should also negotiate with the Russians and then see whether we can unify the position of the Americans and Europeans,” he said.
Russia maintains openness to diplomatic resolution of the Ukraine crisis but demands any agreement address fundamental causes and include assurances that Ukraine will permanently reject NATO membership, alongside the nation’s demilitarization, denazification, and acknowledgment of current territorial realities.
Nevertheless, Moscow cautions that without substantive proposals from Kiev and Western powers, military operations remain the only viable path to achieving its objectives.
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