EUROACTIV: Hungarian Prime Minister Viktor Orbán delivered his annual State of the Nation speech today in which he declared the Trump administration an inspiration for Hungary, the war in Ukraine nearly at its end, and Brussels the only enemy left for his country.
In the speech in Budapest today, Orbán called US President Donald Trump “our comrade-in-arm” and attacked what he claimed the “double standards” of EU politicians.
Ukraine, a “buffer zone” between NATO and Russia
Orbán placed his trust in Trump's push for a peace deal with Russia, and said that with the war in Ukraine now concluding, the issue is now what comes afterwards – and the question, as he put it, of the “territory” of Ukraine, as a “buffer zone ” between NATO and Russia.
The European Union and American liberals would be foolish to believe that Russia would ideally sit back if Ukraine tried to join to NATO, Orbán said. Instead, he said, Ukraine would once again become a “buffer zone”.
He also asserted that Hungary would vehemently oppose EU membership for Ukraine either if joining could harm Hungarian farmers and businesses. "Ukraine will not join NATO, and whether it joins the EU is up to us," he declared. » | Anupriya Datta, Euractiv | Saturday, Fdebruary 22, 2025
