Orbán: If the Americans wanted peace, there would be peace tomorrow morning
July 14. 2023. – 09:12 AM
updated
Most Friday mornings, Hungary’s Prime Minister gives an interview on one of the public radio stations. Since the independent media has not had a chance to interview him for several years, these weekly radio interviews are the only opportunity to find out what the leader of the country thinks about current events, how he sees his opponents and any issues at hand.
The Hungarian government has been convening at the monastery in Sopronbánfalva since Thursday and will continue its deliberations on Friday. Prime Minister Viktor Orbán took a break from the meetings to address the nation at his semi-regular Friday morning interview. Below are the most important points he made.
“The West wants war”
Upon his return from the NATO summit, Orbán informed the government that "the West wants war" and is interested in keeping the Russian-Ukrainian war going for a long time. The Hungarian government must therefore be prepared for the fact that the war and the sanctions will not disappear any time soon.
"If Ukraine had been admitted to NATO, it would have meant an immediate world war."
- the Prime Minister said, and added that the plan to admit Ukraine to the military alliance had to be prevented and "cleared away" at the NATO summit.
At a time when Ukraine is fighting for the survival of its people, they don't care about the outside world, Orbán said, explaining that he understands Zelensky's position but called the Ukrainians' communication style unusual. The Prime Minister's message for the Ukrainian president after Zelensky lobbied for Ukraine's NATO membership was that if you are in trouble and are asking for help, you should behave properly. "The Ukrainians are aggressive, they are demanding," Orbán said, adding that the world looks different from Ukraine than it does from our comfortable leather armchairs.
“If the Americans wanted peace, there would be peace tomorrow morning.”
- the Prime Minister further opined, adding that Ukraine had lost its sovereignty a long time ago, and the continuation of the war is only up to the United States. Orbán did not get an answer at the NATO summit as to why the Americans don't want peace.
Tackling inflation
When addressing Europe's highest inflation rate, Orbán said that "inflation must be tackled, and the government has a plan to bring inflation down to single digits by the end of the year. As he sees it, they are on the right track to do so, and what matters now is not the current rate, but the fact that it's on the decline.
"We may even reach this goal a month or a month and a half earlier than planned."
- he said.
“Those who have been overrun by migrants look at us with envy”
Apart from war and inflation, migration is another subject that has been discussed at the cabinet meeting. They reviewed the legal and political means available for blocking Brussels' plan to create migrant ghettos.
Orbán said that the "voice of the sirens from Brussels" will be listened to with due respect, but our experience tells us "no migration". The government continues to stand by its position that only those with valid permits should be allowed to enter the European Union.
“The Hungarian model should be followed. That is why those who have been overrun by migrants look at us with envy.”
- the Prime Minister said, adding that the new rules would destroy the Hungarian border defence system, which is the only successful one in Europe.
Brussels believes that the right thing to do is to let migrants in, Orbán explained. He believes that Hungarians would kick out the government in three seconds if it followed Western Europe's policy on migrants.
"As long as there is a national government, there will be no migrant ghettos in Hungary," Orbán said.
Viktor Orbán avoids critical questions at home. It’s been years since he gave an interview to independent media. However, for several years, most Friday mornings he has been a regular guest on state-owned Kossuth Rádió, where he is interviewed by a lead editor of the public broadcasting service (operating from an annual budget of 320 million euros). Katalin Nagy has been almost exclusively the only person allowed to interview Orbán on the state-owned channel throughout his third and fourth term with a two-thirds majority in parliament. She has received the state decoration of the Cross of the Order of Merit of Hungary and doesn’t shy away from asking questions.