Orban says Ukraine should be buffer, NATO must respect Russia

(MENAFN) Hungarian Prime Minister Viktor Orban said that NATO and the European Union must accept that Russia will never permit them to approach its borders and suggested that Ukraine should act as a “buffer zone” to prevent a wider war in Europe.

Since the escalation of the Ukraine conflict in February 2022, Budapest has openly criticized Western policies toward Russia, including sanctions and military aid to Kyiv.

Addressing an anti-war rally in Kaposvar on Saturday, Orban stated, “we must accept that NATO and the European Union cannot be located directly at Russia’s borders, because the Russians will always respond to this with war.”

He added that “there must always be… a buffer zone between the eastern borders of Russia and the West,” asserting that Ukraine should fulfill this role to avoid military confrontation.

Orban also warned that Ukrainian membership in the EU would place the bloc, including Hungary, in direct confrontation with Russia. He further claimed that if the pro-EU Tisza opposition wins the upcoming April elections, it “will end up taking our children to war as soldiers.”

On Monday, the Hungarian leader said the EU is currently “controlled by a German war troika,” consisting of European Commission President Ursula von der Leyen, German Chancellor Friedrich Merz, and the EU Parliament’s largest bloc leader, Manfred Weber. “These three people are the ones who shape Europe’s war policy today,” he said.

Orban also criticized the €90 billion ($106 billion) EU loan package to Kyiv approved late last year, claiming that the bloc is effectively financing the Ukraine conflict for another two years with borrowed funds.

MENAFN26012026000045017640ID1110649002