Orbán: Ukraine would not last a day without the West
In his weekly interview, PM Orbán said the Ukrainians were 'incapable of keeping their own state functioning', adding that 'we're the ones paying for Ukrainians' pensions, the salaries of state employees and the operation of Ukrainian public services.' 'We're the ones funding their military,' he said.
'So, without us, without the West, Ukraine wouldn't last a day; not only would it be unable to fight a war against Russia. it simply couldn't even exist,' the prime minister said. 'Admitting a country like this to the European Union means taking on a lot of trouble; there's no need for that.'
PM Orbán said that if Ukraine were admitted to the EU, 'war would also be admitted'. This would mean that there would be an EU member with a war going on along its eastern borders, 'and it would only be a matter of time before every European Union member got involved in that war', he said.
'We don't want the Russia-Ukraine war to become our war,' he said.
PM Orbán said that three years ago, western European leaders had 'jumped into the war' with the idea that 'this is our war', that Ukraine was actually fighting for Europe's security, that Russia posed a threat and had to be defeated on Ukraine's territory rather than closer to the EU's borders. He said he had always considered this approach a mistake because it had 'suddenly made Ukraine a security threat' to Europe.
The Hungarian government, on the other hand, 'as the sole pro-peace force', had always called the war a conflict between 'two Slavic brothers', PM Orbán said, noting that the government has been calling for a ceasefire to prevent the conflict from expanding and hurting the European economy in the long run.
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