Hungary will not send weapons to Ukraine and will stay out of the war, Prime Minister Viktor Orban said at a rally today, accusing the opposition of trying to lure Hungary into the war raging on its eastern border.
The conservative nationalist leader is in the midst of a tough race to run for a fourth consecutive term in the April 3 election, as for the first time since 2010 Fidesz’s right-wing party will face a united front of six opposition parties.
Orban’s path to re-election is complicated by the Russian invasion of Ukraine, which has shed new light on his close relationship with Russian President Putin for a decade, prompting strong criticism from the opposition.
Addressing a gathering of tens of thousands of supporters holding the Hungarian flag in front of parliament, Orban said Central Europe was just a “chessboard” for the great powers and that if Hungary did not defend its interests, it could easily fall victim. of the crisis.
“Russia is looking at Russian interests, while Ukraine is looking at Ukraine’s interests. Neither the United States nor Brussels will think in the minds of Hungarians and feel the hearts of Hungarians. We must defend our own interests,” he said. Orban.
“We must stay away from this war … so we will not send troops or weapons to the battlefield.”
Orban said the choice for voters on April 3 would be between his peace-seeking party and the left-wing opposition “which will be dragged into a ruthless, protracted and bloody war”.
The six-party opposition, led by Petra Markie Zai, the mayor of a small town and father of seven, has sharply criticized Orban’s relations with Russia, saying the Hungarian prime minister had built a free state modeled on Putin’s. to media freedoms. The government denies the allegations.
Speaking at an opposition rally on the Danube River, Marky Zai, who is campaigning with a strong pro-European platform, said the election of the Hungarians has never been so easy.
“We have only one choice: we must choose Europe instead of the East… and freedom instead of authoritarianism,” he said, with his supporters shouting “Europe, Europe”.
Referring to the European Union’s concerns about the decline of democratic standards in Hungary, Marki Zai said that “Orban’s unlimited power has led to unbridled corruption”, while millions of Hungarians are struggling to overcome it.
Fidesz slightly extended its lead in a Median poll in late February to 39% from 32% for the opposition bloc.
Orban condemned the Russian invasion and said that Budapest would not veto EU-agreed sanctions against Russia, but that they should not affect Hungary’s energy supply.
SOURCE: ΑΠΕ-ΜΠΕ
Source: Capital
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