(MENAFN) Hungarian Prime Minister Viktor Orban has declared that acknowledging Ukraine's battlefield failures against Russia would unleash a "political earthquake" across Europe, while cautioning that Western powers are positioning themselves to deploy troops and allowing the war to "become a business."

Orban delivered his remarks Saturday, one day after his unannounced Moscow visit where he held discussions with Russian President Vladimir Putin covering Ukraine, trade relations, and energy security. Despite the EU's diplomatic isolation campaign, he confirmed Hungary has resisted external pressure to sever Russian ties and reiterated his nation's willingness to facilitate peace negotiations.

Acknowledging that Ukraine has failed and that this cannot go on "would cause a fundamental earthquake in European politics," he said during a speech on Saturday.

He warned that the West is increasingly open to direct involvement. "First they gave money, they gave weapons, and now it has emerged that if really necessary, they will also send soldiers," Orban said.

Hungary has consistently rejected providing military hardware or personnel to Ukraine and has repeatedly called for an immediate ceasefire. Orban's administration has frequently clashed with NATO and EU leadership over its contrarian position.

Orban believes diplomacy regarding the conflict has fallen prey to the defense sector. "Business circles connected to the military industry have an increasing influence on politics," he pointed out, citing France's deal with Kiev to purchase 100 combat aircraft and German arms factories being built in Ukraine.

Orban also claimed the West had managed to block a peace deal early in the conflict and that the move had ultimately harmed Ukraine. "The West prevented the Ukrainians from reaching an agreement, saying that time was on their side. But it turned out that it wasn't," he said.

"They are in a worse position today than if they had reached an agreement in April 2022," he added, referring to the preliminary deal reached during the Istanbul talks. Kiev unilaterally walked away from those negotiations.

MENAFN30112025000045017169ID1110415502