Prominent and very wealthy Belgian liberal MEP Guy Verhofstadt has again lashed out at Hungarian Prime Minister Viktor Orbán, this time angered by an interview Orbán gave national daily Magyar Nemzet just before Christmas.
Apparently upset by the part of the interview in which Orbán said “Ukraine can only fight as long as the United States supports it with money and arms, if the Americans want peace, there will be peace,” Verhofsadt tweeted “No other word for this… Orbán is a traitor!”
Remix News has also exclusively translated large portions of Orbán’s remarks, in which he discusses his views on the Ukraine war, peace in Europe, and why Hungary will continue to pursue its interests.
This was not the first time that the liberal MEP has been harshly critical of the Hungarian prime minister. In a tweet at the beginning of November, he demanded that Viktor Orbán and Hungary leave the European Union and be replaced by Ukraine under President Volodymyr Zelensky.
“The blackmail is Orbán’s cynical and reckless game, because we let him get away with it. Perhaps we would be better off if Orbán left the European Union and Zelensky joined in his place,” Verhofstadt said at the time.
In the interview that provoked Verhofstadt’s anger, Orbán said that while it is important for his government that Russia poses no security threat, continued economic relations is essential for not only Hungary, but also for the entire European economy.
“The answer to the question of whether we are on the right or wrong side of history is that we are on the Hungarian side of history. We support and help Ukraine, it is in our interest to preserve a sovereign Ukraine, and it is in our interest that Russia does not pose a security threat to Europe, but it is not in our interest to give up all economic relations with Russia. We are looking at these issues through Hungarian glasses, not through anyone else’s,” Orbán said.
