In his first speech after his re-election, Hungarian Prime Minister Viktor Orban (as usual) found clear words. The country has been a member of NATO since 1999. The alliance was the foundation on which Hungary would build its security. But, Orban clarifies, NATO is a defensive alliance. It should never give in to the temptation to become a war alliance. Above all, this also means that no military offensives may be conducted outside of a member state.
Starting a war is easy, but ending it is hard. In Ukraine, the situation is getting worse, Orban analyses. Putin would carry out his invasion without foreseeable end and the USA had decided to supply arms to Ukraine without limit. That is the “worst possible combination”. The war will therefore last a very long time. Orban’s top priority is to keep his country out of the conflict.
“Anyone who decides to supply arms has one foot in the war,” Orban said. His country is on the side of peace. “Peace creates, war destroys,” he said in his speech. And he explains: “If a country has a weak army, with unfit soldiers who don’t want to fight, then that country will be the first to be attacked”. Hungary is not such a country. In the worst case, NATO would defend Hungary, but “with us, not instead of us,” said the prime minister.
