The war in Ukraine can only end as a result of peace talks between the United States and Russia, Hungarian Prime Minister Viktor Orbán said in Transylvania, Romania, on Saturday.
In a wide-ranging speech delivered at the Tusványos Summer Open University, Orbán delivered his strategic visions for Hungary and Europe over the next decade.
“We should get used to the idea that there will be no Russian-Ukrainian peace talks. Anyone who waits for this is waiting in vain,” Orbán told attendees.
“Since Russia wants security guarantees, the war can only be ended by Russian-American negotiations. Until there is a Russian-American negotiation, there will be no peace.
“I could suggest that we Europeans are also here, but unfortunately, my friends, I have to say that we Europeans have squandered our chance to influence things.”
“We lost this chance after 2014, when we left the Americans out of the first conflict, the first Minsk agreement established during the Crimean War … with a German-French guarantee,” the Hungarian leader said.
“But unfortunately, we Europeans, and our representatives, the Germans and the French, could not enforce this, so the Russians do not want to negotiate with us now but with someone who can enforce what they agree on against Ukraine.
“So Europe finds itself once again in the position that it will not have a say in the most important security issue, but rather the Americans and the Russians.”
He also said that the European Union’s dwindling international reputation will not be restored by the erroneous idea of abandoning consensus decisions.
“According to Hungarian historical experience, if a foreign policy is imposed on a country, which that country does not want, even if it has to pass by a two-thirds vote in the Union, it is simply called imperialism,” Orbán said.
“The argument that otherwise Europe cannot become a factor in world politics is again an illusion. Europe cannot become a factor in world politics because it cannot keep order in its own back yard,” he added.
