Orbán: We are only interfering in the US election as much as they did in Hungarian domestic affairs

"Communication first, then a ceasefire, and finally the peace plan," Viktor Orbán said of the Russia-Ukraine war at the Economic Forum held in the northern Italian town of Cernobbio. Before his speech, in a social media post, his message was: "Avanti ragazzi! We will defend the interests of Hungarians at home and abroad".

Regarding the war between Russia and Ukraine, Orbán said that this is not the first war he has had to deal with as prime minister. "I have some experience in managing war and peace," he said. He said that if there is no communication, then stopping the war is impossible, adding that he considers it a mistake not to communicate with Russia. He also brought up the subject of a ceasefire, saying that the first step to peace is a ceasefire, not a peace plan. "Communication first, then a ceasefire, and finally the peace plan," he said.

Commenting on his "peace mission", he said that after talking with both Zelensky and Putin, it became clear that both believed that time was on their side. "They have no intention of bringing this war to a quick conclusion," he said. The Hungarian prime minister explained that this was precisely why he had gone to China and Washington afterwards, to ask them for help, to garner international support for his peace mission. He believes that Trump can help with this, which is why he is hoping that he will win the US presidential election in November.

Journalists asked the prime minister why he is so openly in favour of Trump, while the EU's diplomatic approach is not to interfere in other countries' elections. Orbán said:

“What I am doing is exactly the same level of interference by the Hungarian prime minister in the US elections as the Democrats' government has interfered in Hungarian domestic affairs.”

He added that he is maintaining a balance and said that he also supports Trump for his ability to conduct business and his views, and added that in this respect right now, the world needs the former president, as he is a man who can talk to both the East and the West. "We are interested in cooperating with both the West and the countries of the East, and if there will be no sanctions, with Russia too", he said. He is not in favour of a policy of bloc-building, because in that case "we are always on the losing side", he said.

Orbán said that his earlier predictions made to EU leaders had come true. "I told them that if we didn't do something, the war would soon become even more brutal. If you look at where we are now compared to July, you can see that I was right," he said. He later added that

the war had also shown that on its own, the EU is weak, both economically and militarily, so it needs strengthening in these areas.

In his opinion, it is also a question whether this should be done inside or outside NATO. This is important because several EU member states are not part of the military alliance. "The question is whether we can build a European defence alliance that also includes non-NATO countries." He added that the European defence system is part of NATO, but an alliance that would include EU countries outside the alliance is also possible.

The Prime Minister was asked what he considers the most important challenge Europe is facing today. He said that as the country holding the rotating presidency of the EU, Hungary believes that competitiveness is the main issue to be addressed and that there will be a plan put together by November on how to address this. He said the other two problems were war and migration. Orbán said that the EU's green deal would have to be rethought. He said that the red tape is not helping either, as it is making big companies invest elsewhere rather than focusing on Europe.

He believes that there is no need for closer political cooperation in the EU, because it would kill the EU in terms of competitiveness, but he considers strengthening the single European market important. He said that the EU's core values are not important right now, as there are vital issues to be addressed: war and peace, gender, migration and a work-based society. He pointed out that Italy is currently grappling with migration, but Hungary does not have such a problem because "we did not let them in". He said the most important question is why member states are not allowed to make decisions on migration at a national level. "Why do they want to impose this on us?" – he asked. Finally, Orbán asked the journalist who put the question to him whether he thought it was impolite to express an opinion that did not fit into the political mainstream.

“We do not agree with him”

The Hungarian Prime Minister gave his speech in Cernobbio, near Lake Como in Italy on the opening day of the European House – Ambrosetti Forum, after taking an extended break in August. He was recently photographed at a luxury restaurant on the shores of the lake. The three-day event brings together business and industry leaders, diplomats and government officials from Italy and abroad. According to press reports, the event will also be attended by Ukrainian President Zelensky, who was listed as a speaker just a few hours ago and is expected to address the audience at 18:45 on Friday evening.

The President of Azerbaijan addressed the Economic Forum before Orbán, but other speakers in the coming days will include Italian Prime Minister Giorgia Meloni, Italian President Sergio Mattarella, as well as several European ministers and US senators. The head of the Economic Forum has his own opinion on Orbán, and he makes no secret of it: manager Valerio De Molli said the event would be a "minefield" for Orbán because

"we don't agree with Orbán's policies, not one bit".

He added that they have always been welcoming and that he respects Orbán for attending the forum.

The Hungarian Prime Minister's trip to Italy comes after the paper of Italian Prime Minister Giorgia Meloni's EP group described him as the Russians' Trojan horse. The article was published by a journalist from Cluj-Napoca, Eugen Olariu, who is a regular contributor to the paper, but was deleted from the site shortly after publication, allegedly because it was published without the editor-in-chief's permission, hvg.hu reported. Meloni and Orbán used to have a very cordial relationship, but they have been growing more distant because of their differing views on the war in Ukraine.

The next time Viktor Orbán will give a speech will be on Saturday in the small Hungarian village of Kötcse, where Fidesz' leadership will hold its 23rd picnic at the Dobozy mansion. This event is traditionally the main event of the year for the party other than the Tusványos Summer University. It is usually the place where Orbán sets out the main direction and themes of Fidesz policy for the season ahead before a closed audience. The motto of this year's 2024 meeting is “Let there be peace already!”