In an interview with the Hungarian publication M1, Hungarian Prime Minister Viktor Orban praised former US President Donald Trump as a ‘man of peace.’ Orban pointed out that Trump was the first president in a long time who hadn’t initiated a war during his time in office. If Trump were to win the presidential race again, Orban suggested that he wouldn’t allocate funds for Ukraine to defend itself against Russian aggression.
“Trump clearly stated that his goal is peace in the Russian-Ukrainian war. We also desire nothing but peace and an end to hostilities. If the U.S. doesn’t provide funding, Europeans won’t be able to finance this war themselves, and that’s when the war will come to an end,” insisted Viktor Orban. He noted that while Trump isn’t currently the President of the United States, his party in Congress is already “impeding the allocation of funds for the war.”
This interview with the Hungarian government’s leader came after a meeting with Trump, held on March 8 at the former US president’s residence in Florida.
“Viktor Orban is an openly populist figure. He’s a politician who, incidentally, is favoured by Hungarian voters. They’ve been re-electing him to the top office in the country for quite a while. But what does Orban seek from the world? Money, money, and more money. That’s the primary agenda he’s pursued both within the European Union and in his dealings with Moscow,” explains Volodymyr Ohryzko, Ukrainian diplomat and former Minister of Foreign Affairs of Ukraine from December 2007 to March 2009, in a commentary for The Ukrainian Week.
Firstly, it is crucial to comprehend the actions of Orban’s political faction on the global stage.
“They seek out like-minded populists—people who thrive on self-promotion. Right now, one of the most notable populists on the global stage is Donald Trump, who is once again in the running for the same position. So, it’s no wonder that Orban went to meet with him. As the saying goes, ‘a fisherman sees another fisherman from afar.’ It’s worth noting that the Hungarian leader has strong personal ties with numerous populists from both right-wing and left-wing factions in Europe,” explains Ohryzko.
Even Donald Trump himself has claimed on multiple occasions that he knows how to end the war in 24 hours. He believes that Vladimir Putin started mobilising troops near Ukraine’s borders right after Trump’s loss in the American elections. A the same time, Trump accuses President Joe Biden’s administration of not making efforts to negotiate with the Russian president.
Unfortunately, Trump’s remarks about ending the war or Orban’s comments about the conditions for achieving peace shouldn’t be taken lightly. This should serve as a wake-up call for European partners to swiftly reassess the security concerns across the entire continent.
“Of course, we have to realise that the statements made by presidential candidates before and after elections represent the views of different individuals. Among other things, there’s a concern that if Trump wins the elections, he’ll follow through on everything he said during the campaign. This should serve as a serious wake-up call for European politicians, who are starting to grasp the urgency of securing their own safety. As grand as it may sound, today, their security rests in the hands of Ukraine,” the Ukrainian diplomat explains.
He goes on to say that populists like Viktor Orban or Robert Fico, the pro-Russian Slovak politician, are a minority in Europe: “Most people are looking at the situation with clear eyes. So, there is hope that in the final months before the elections, Europe will finally wake up. Military equipment won’t just sit idle in European hangars anymore; it will face the Russian threat head-on. Only then will Europeans truly be safe.”
