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‘Unacceptable’: Hungarian FM Hits Out at Nord Stream Blasts Not Being Investigated

Sputnik – 08.02.2024

The absence of any serious investigation into the Nord Stream blasts is unacceptable, and Hungary urges other countries to take this issue seriously, Hungarian Foreign Minister Peter Szijjarto told Sputnik after Sweden terminated its probe into the explosions.

On Wednesday, the Swedish Prosecutor’s Office announced the termination of its investigation into the blasts, ruling it does not belong to its jurisdiction. Sweden has handed the materials on the issue to Germany for its investigation into the matter, Swedish public prosecutor Mats Ljungqvist said.

“Hundreds of days have been passed, and no serious investigation has taken place yet. No details have been revealed yet. And I think it’s unacceptable,” Szijjarto said.

The minister called it “a terrorist attack against a strategic infrastructure in Europe.”

“An attack against the safe supply of energy of ours, is a strategic issue, and the matter of European security. And the fact that no investigation has taken place is very irresponsible and from our perspective, it’s really unacceptable. Therefore we urge authorities, be they national or international to take it seriously,” Szijjarto said.

February 8, 2024 Posted by | Deception, False Flag Terrorism | , | Leave a comment

Brussels sues Hungary again for new sovereignty law banning foreign funding of political parties

Opposition parties and media received over $10 million from overseas NGOs ahead of the last election, primarily with ties to the US Democratic Party

BY THOMAS BROOKE | REMIX NEWS | FEBRUARY 7, 2024

The European Commission has launched further infringement proceedings against Hungary — this time to contest a new law designed to restrict undue foreign political interference in domestic elections.

In a press release published on Wednesday, the EU executive claimed that the new law on the Defense of National Sovereignty violates “several provisions of primary and secondary EU law” including the democratic values of the Union, the electoral rights of EU citizens, and the right to a private life and the protection of personal data.

Hungarian lawmakers passed the legislation in December last year by a ratio of nearly 3:1. The new law provides for the creation of an independent authority — the Office for the Defense of Sovereignty — to investigate political interference in Hungarian elections, and the bill prohibits political parties or groups from receiving foreign financing.

A commission formed in the wake of Hungary’s election in April 2022 found various left-wing opposition parties and media outlets had received considerable sums of foreign funding before the election, primarily from the United States.

A National Security Committee report revealed that the U.S.-based NGO, Action for Democracy — an organization with close ties to billionaire oligarch George Soros — had donated HUF 1.8 billion (€4.48 million) to opposition leader Péter Márki-Zay’s campaign, while the pro-opposition news outlet, Ezalényeg, raked in HUF 1 billion (€2.57 million) from an unnamed Swiss organization.

Despite the funding, the coalition formed by left-wing opposition parties failed to dethrone Prime Minister Viktor Orbán and his governing Fidesz party, as they won a landslide victory.

During the committee stage, ruling Hungarian lawmakers were ordered to drop the bill by the commissioner for human rights of the Council of Europe, Dunja Mijatović, after complaining that the new oversight authority could demand personal data from those it suspects to have received foreign funding without adequate safeguards.

The Hungarian government has staunchly defended the new legislation, which came into force on Dec. 22 last year, insisting it was necessary to defend national sovereignty and prevent foreign interference in elections — an issue the European Union has long considered to be of paramount importance when it is Russia being accused of such underhand tactics.

An official report published by the Hungarian secret service links payments made by a U.S. non-profit, which has close ties to the Democratic Party and critics of the Hungarian government, to a movement founded by Hungarian opposition politician Péter Márki-Zay

“Hungary’s sovereignty is impaired – and it also carries a heightened risk to national security – if political power gets into the hands of persons or organizations dependent on any foreign power, organization or person,” the bill read.

Former advisor to Hungary’s ruling Fidesz party in the European Parliament, András László, said the bill is popular among the Hungarian electorate.

“Hungarians are outraged about the massive foreign interference in the 2022 general elections. The left-wing parties, media, and organizations received at least $10 million from the United States and Switzerland. The Biden administration announced more ‘grants’ to left-wing media just a few days ago,” he said.

The Commission stated that it had conducted a thorough assessment of the legislation and considers it to be unacceptable, giving Hungary two months to respond to its formal notice before progressing down the route of litigation in the European Court of Justice.

February 7, 2024 Posted by | Corruption | , , | Leave a comment

EU approves €50 billion in Ukraine aid

RT | February 1, 2024

EU leaders have signed off on a €50 billion ($54 billion) package of economic aid to Ukraine, overcoming resistance from Hungarian Prime Minister Viktor Orban. The Hungarian leader accused Brussels of “blackmailing” him into accepting the deal.

European Council President Charles Michel announced the news on Thursday morning, minutes after the bloc’s leaders sat down for talks in Brussels.

“All 27 leaders agreed on an additional €50 billion support package for Ukraine within the EU budget,” Michel wrote on X. “This locks in steadfast, long-term, predictable funding for Ukraine.”

The sum will be drawn from the EU’s collective budget and doled out over four years to Kiev, where it will be used to pay public sector salaries, keep government departments open, and prop up the beleaguered welfare system. The EU already agreed on a budget three years ago, which will have to be modified to include the mammoth aid package.

Any such budget modifications require the unanimous approval of all 27 member states. Hungarian Prime Minister Viktor Orban warned for months that he would veto the proposal, arguing that the EU has no idea how the money will be spent and no idea what will happen in Ukraine in the coming months. Orban has also argued that Ukraine cannot defeat Russia on the battlefield, and that Western leaders should be pushing Kiev toward a ceasefire and peace talks.

Orban has described Ukraine as “one of the most corrupt countries in the world.” Transparency International ranks Ukraine 104th out of 180 in its Corruption Perceptions Index report, and over the weekend, the country’s Security Service (SBU) announced that it had uncovered a major scheme by high-ranking defense officials to embezzle money intended to purchase ammunition.

Earlier this week, the Financial Times revealed that the European Council had drawn up a plan to cut funding to Budapest and tank the Hungarian economy if Orban maintained his veto. Orban accused the “imperialist” EU of trying to “blackmail” him, and said that he proposed a “compromise deal” whereby Ukraine would receive a smaller transfer of aid every year, which any member state could veto.

Brussels rejected Orban’s proposal, he told France’s Le Point news magazine on Monday. “They say that if we behave like a sovereign country, Hungary will immediately face a vast financial blockade,” he said. “Knowing Brussels, they are capable of it.”

Under the terms of the deal agreed on Thursday, EU leaders will debate the implementation of the package annually, while the budget will be reviewed in two years. Speaking anonymously, multiple European diplomats told Politico that these measures were included to placate the Hungarian PM.

However, other anonymous officials said that Orban was given no concessions, and was pressured to accept that “there was no alternative than giving in on the money to Ukraine.”

February 1, 2024 Posted by | Economics | , , | Leave a comment

Hungary responds to reported EU threat to destroy its economy

RT | January 29, 2024

Hungary’s minister for European affairs, Janos Boka, has said that Budapest will not give in to “blackmail” by Brussels, following a report that claimed the EU would seek to sabotage the country’s economy if it does not unblock an aid package for Ukraine.

Ahead of a summit of EU leaders on Thursday, Hungarian Prime Minister Viktor Orban pledged to oppose the use of the bloc’s collective budget to funnel €50 billion ($54 billion) in aid to Ukraine.

Should Orban not lift the veto, Brussels could seek to sabotage Hungary’s economy by pulling funding to the EU member state, the Financial Times reported on Sunday, citing confidential plans drawn up by European leaders seen by the newspaper.

The strategy, the FT noted, could impact Hungary’s currency and incite a downturn in investment, which would affect “jobs and growth.” Boka has insisted however that Hungary will not be dictated to by European bureaucrats.

“Hungary does not allow blackmail,” he wrote on social media late on Sunday. “The agreement confirms what the Hungarian government has been saying for a long time: Brussels is using access to EU resources as a means of political pressure.”

He added: “Hungary makes no link between supporting Ukraine and access to EU resources and refuses to let others do so. Hungary so far will continue to participate constructively in the negotiations, but it does not allow blackmail.”

The document, which the FT said was produced by an official in the Council of the EU, highlights what it says are Hungary’s economic vulnerabilities. These include “very high public deficit,” “very high inflation,” a weak currency, and problems with debt repayment.

It added that Hungarian economic growth heavily depends on overseas investment, which, in turn, is driven by “high levels of EU funding.” A spokesperson for the Council of the EU told the FT that it has a policy of not commenting on leaks.

Orban insisted last month that the EU must meet certain conditions before Budapest would lift its veto, including making the package modest in size and scheduling it over one year rather than the proposed four. Hungary must also be exempted from any new joint EU borrowing over the matter, the PM added.

Another tactic reportedly being considered within the EU bloc is to invoke Article 7 of the Treaty of the European Union, which would allow Brussels to strip Budapest of its voting rights. However, this would require unanimity among the other 26 member states – a step many European countries appear unwilling to take.

January 29, 2024 Posted by | Militarism, Russophobia | , | Leave a comment

US ambassador makes threat to Hungary


David Pressman, U.S. ambassador to Hungary, attends the LGBTQ Pride parade in Budapest, 15 July 2023 © Getty Images / Marton Monus
RT | January 27, 2024

The US has the power to pressure Hungary if it does not adjust its foreign policy towards the EU, NATO and Russia, American ambassador to Budapest, Davis Pressman, said.

In an interview published in the Financial Times on Friday, Pressman laid out a laundry list of complaints about Hungarian Prime Minister Viktor Orban, including his defiant stance on the Russia-Ukraine conflict and attitude towards Russian President Vladimir Putin.

“When you look at Hungary’s foreign policy, whether it be suggesting raising questions about Ukraine’s EU accession, stymying efforts to provide financial support to Ukraine, meeting with Vladimir Putin, resisting efforts to diversify off of Russian energy, resisting sustained efforts to close Kremlin platforms inside of Hungary, all of these have something in common,” the diplomat said. “And it’s something that is leaving Hungary more isolated from its partners within Nato and its partners within the EU.”

Pressman went on to insist that Orban’s “policy choices, without question, are helpful to Putin.” He added that the US has the means of coercing Hungary.

“We absolutely have leverage, that is true. And we’re prepared to use our leverage.”

Unlike many NATO members, Hungary has refused to send weapons to Ukraine and has barred the alliance from using its territory to provide military aid to Kiev. Orban also opposed certain economic sanctions on Russia. Last month, Hungary vetoed an additional €50 billion ($55 billion) in EU funding for Ukraine.

Budapest has maintained that no foreign pressure can prompt it to abandon national interests. “No one can tell us from the outside how to lead our lives within our own borders. Whether it is a foreign citizen, or even a foreign ambassador, their opinion is irrelevant for us,” Hungarian Foreign Minister Peter Szijjarto said last year, as quoted by local media.

January 27, 2024 Posted by | Aletho News | , , , | 2 Comments

PM Orbán: EU parliament wants to rob citizens of a choice on Ukraine funding

MAGYAR NEMZET | JANUARY 19, 2024

By forcing through a four-year, €50 billion aid package to Ukraine just a few months ahead of European elections, members of the European Parliament want to rob people of the right to choose their future, Prime Minister Viktor Orbán wrote on X.

“Liberal MEPs attacked Hungary once again in the European Parliament yesterday. They want to give money to Ukraine for 4 years, while the European elections are just 5 months away. They essentially want to strip people of their rights to make decisions on their future. What an anti-democratic position! Hungary disagrees. If we want to help Ukraine, let’s do it outside the EU-budget and on a yearly basis! This is the only democratic position just 5 months before the elections,” Orbán wrote.

On Wednesday, two key debates were held in Strasbourg. The first focused on the previous and upcoming EU summits, while the second was entitled: “The situation in Hungary and frozen EU funds.”

After the EU parliament discussed funding to Hungary, the agenda was supposed to focus on the EU summit set for Feb. 1. However, MEPs were so fixated on Hungary, that the country dominated their conversations for nearly the entire session, so much so that even Romanian Socialist MEP Maria Grapini pointed out that the debate was fixated on the vilification of Hungary and the previous session’s discussion on Ukraine.

January 19, 2024 Posted by | Civil Liberties, Militarism, Russophobia | , , | Leave a comment

EU could stop Hungary voting on Ukraine – FT

RT | December 18, 2023

The possibility of Hungary temporarily forfeiting its voting rights within the European Union is reportedly being considered, the Financial Times has claimed. This development comes after heightened discussions, especially after Budapest opposed a €50 billion ($54 billion) four-year financial aid package for Ukraine during last Thursday’s EU summit.

While Hungary did not ultimately block the initiation of EU accession talks with Kiev, as previously threatened, the Central European nation maintains a divergent stance on Ukraine compared to the bloc’s official position. Prime Minister Viktor Orban’s government has consistently criticized Brussels’ plans for Ukraine’s full EU membership and Western countries’ belief in Kiev’s military capability against Russia.

According to the Financial Times’ report published on Monday, citing anonymous officials, some EU members are considering activating Article 7 of the Treaty on European Union, which allows states to lose certain rights if persistently in breach of core EU principles.

The report pointed out, however, that many countries are hesitant to use this perceived nuclear option. Instead, these nations prefer revealing to Budapest the “full costs” of its isolation.

An anonymous EU staffer told the media outlet that while “Hungary can create more trouble,” it will not be able to “stop us providing money to Ukraine.” The official disagreed with those who like to paint Orban as “Putin’s puppet,” adding that the Hungarian prime minister is pursuing his own agenda.

The FT quoted another unnamed EU diplomat as saying that Orban is “always transactional, never ideological” and is merely seeking the unfreezing of €20 billion worth of EU funding, which Brussels had suspended over concerns related to the rule of law in the Central European country.

The Hungarian prime minister and his foreign minister, Peter Szijjarto, however, dismissed such claims last week.

On the other hand, Lithuanian MEP Rasa Jukneviciene asserted on Friday that Orban is working for Russia and undermining the EU from within.

“I appeal to the Commission, to the leaders of the Council: Let’s start to think about the procedure to suspend the voting rights of Hungary,” the lawmaker implored.

Speaking to Hungary’s Radio Kossuth on Friday, Orban highlighted that Budapest still has approximately 75 opportunities to impede Kiev’s path to EU membership. He has raised concerns about what he describes as endemic corruption in Ukraine on multiple occasions.

December 18, 2023 Posted by | Militarism | , , | Leave a comment

EU states consider ‘Plan B’ for Ukraine aid – FT

RT | December 12, 2023

Kiev’s main backers in the EU may overcome Hungarian opposition to the proposed allocation of $54 billion in long-term aid for Ukraine by providing funds outside of the bloc’s joint budget, the Financial Times reported on Tuesday.

The European Commission is seeking to provide the funding over the next four years through the so-called Ukraine Facility. The money is intended to help Kiev with its conflict with Russia, as well as for its reconstruction efforts.

Hungary, which has been highly critical of Brussels’ approach to the Ukraine crisis, has indicated that it would veto the decision during a summit of leaders on Thursday.

The Ukrainian government is counting on the money for its 2024 budget and has warned of “devastating consequences” if the EU comes up short, Foreign Minister Dmitry Kuleba told journalists on Monday ahead of a meeting with his European counterparts in Brussels.

Ukraine’s Deputy Prime Minister Olga Stefanishina said a failure to allocate the money would be “a failure of the entire European Union” that would impact Kiev’s chances of getting more aid from the US as well.

According to the FT, Kiev’s supporters in Brussels want to sweeten the deal for Budapest by releasing EU budget funds that were frozen due to Hungary’s perceived lapses in the rule of law and corruption.

The alternative is to have the other 26 members pool resources, the newspaper said, citing people familiar with the talks on what one of the sources called a “plan B.” Diplomats are privately discussing “the feasibility and technical details” of such a move.

EU foreign policy chief Josep Borrell urged national leaders to “stubbornly support” Ukraine for the sake of bloc unity after the ministerial meeting.

Hungarian Minister for EU Affairs Janos Boka told the FT that his government was not likely to change its position. He claimed that the reported consent-for-frozen-funds deal would amount to “political blackmail not from Hungary, but against Hungary” by Brussels.

However, he added that it was feasible for assistance outside of the EU budget to be provided. This would involve “member state contributions, mutual member state guarantees, a much shorter planning period of one year instead of four years,” and would be “under the clear political leadership of the member states.”

Budapest has argued that the tens of billions of dollars and euros poured into Ukraine by Western donors have failed to end the bloodshed. Nations should instead pressure Kiev and Moscow into peace talks, the Hungarian government believes.

Russia says Ukraine’s uncompromising position and refusal to accept the reality on the ground is standing in the way of resolving the crisis. Moscow wants its neighbor to be “neutral, non-aligned and nuclear-free” as well as respectful of the rights of its ethnic Russian minority, Foreign Ministry spokeswoman Maria Zakharova said last week.

December 12, 2023 Posted by | Militarism | , , | Leave a comment

Zaluzhny Talking Peace With Russia Behind Zelensky and Biden’s Backs: Sy Hersh

By Ilya Tsukanov – Sputnik – 01.12.2023

President Zelensky admitted this week that Ukraine’s counteroffensive failed to “achieve the desired results” and that Kiev is now in “a new phase” of the conflict with Russia. Meanwhile, Valery Zaluzhny, the general who enraged Zelensky by calling the crisis a “stalemate,” was absent from a Thursday meeting between the president and his generals.

Russia and Ukraine’s top generals have been holding secret discussions aimed at putting the Ukrainian crisis to bed, with Ukraine’s president, and the Biden administration, left out. That’s according to a new report by veteran investigative journalist Seymour Hersh citing informed US sources.

The negotiations, said to be spearheaded by Russian Chief of General Staff Valery Gerasimov and Ukrainian Armed Forces Commander-in-Chief Valery Zaluzhny, still have “a lot of questions” left to be ironed out, one source, a US businessman with years of experience dealing with high-level Ukrainian diplomatic and military issues in the government, told Hersh. These include what to do about war criminals, matters of citizenship, ordnance disposal, and cross border economics, as well wrangling to assure “peace with honor,” according to a second source.

Russian officials have made no official statements on the matter, and Sputnik could not independently confirm the veracity of this information at the time of writing. Moscow has repeatedly said throughout the crisis that Ukrainian membership in NATO would constitute crossing its security “red lines.”

Hersh’s sources also told him that Zaluzhny’s bombshell interview in a British business magazine last month in which he admitted that Ukraine’s counteroffensive had reached a “stalemate” and that there would be no “deep and beautiful breakthrough” was “arranged” after Zaluzhny and Gerasimov had spoken several times.

The interview and accompanying op-ed written by Zaluzhny were “carefully orchestrated” by the Ukrainian commander to send a message to the Ukrainian government and the “madman who staked his life upon winning politically and militarily” at the helm that “the war is over and we want out,” according to a US official Hersh says was involved in the early stages of the general-to-general discussions.

“So the message that was sent to Zelensky is that we are going to have talks with the Russians with or without you and they are going to be military-to-military. Your neighbors are fed up with you, especially Poland and Hungary, and they want their Ukrainian refugees to go back to a peaceful country,” the official said. The state of Ukraine’s collapsed economy and the question of “how do you operate a country with no GNP?” was also driven home, the source added.

The US president and his foreign policy team have been left out of the talks, and “the White House is totally against the proposed agreement,” according to the US official who spoke to Hersh. “But it will happen. Putin has not disagreed,” the source said.

Zelensky has reportedly been told that “this is a military-to-military problem to solve and the talks will go on with or without you,” if need be. “We can finance his voyage to the Caribbean,” the official added.

Zelensky-Zaluzhny Spat

Hersh’s story comes after a month of escalating tensions between Zaluzhny and Zelensky after the publication of Zaluzhny’s interview and article in Western media on November 1, with Ukraine’s president first adamantly insisting that the conflict with Russia was “not a stalemate,” and emphasizing emphatically to US media that he would never negotiate with Moscow and Russian President Vladimir Putin under any circumstances.

The behind-the-scenes battle has come to include sackings of Zaluzhny allies, the mysterious bombing death attack of one of his aides, and a poisoning attack against Marianna Budanova, the wife of the Ukrainian military’s Main Intelligence Directorate chief.

On Thursday, Zelensky appeared to change his tune regarding the fate of Ukraine’s counteroffensive, saying it “did not achieve the desired results” as quickly as expected, that Kiev will be shifting to “a new phase of war” as winter sets in, and mobilize resources to build fortifications in Zaporozhye, Ukrainian-occupied areas of Donetsk, Kherson, Kharkov, Sumy, Chernigov, Kiev, Rovno and Volyn.

Meanwhile, Commander Zaluzhny was conspicuously absent from a meeting between Zelensky and his generals during a visit to a command post in Kharkov region.

One factor that the Hersh story did not account for is Ukraine’s neo-Nazi problem. Veteran international relations expert Gilbert Doctorow told Sputnik this week that notwithstanding the political rivalries or conflicts in Kiev, they are just “a tempest in a teapot” given the power of the neo-Nazi street thug “grey cardinals” mobilized during the 2014 coup, who can and will do everything in their power to block any peace deal.

December 1, 2023 Posted by | Militarism | , , , | Leave a comment

After Hungary rejects billions in aid to Ukraine, European Council President flies to Budapest to meet with Orbán

Magyar Nemzet | November 28, 2023

European Council President Charles Michel flew to Budapest on Monday in an attempt to smooth over current disagreements with Hungary, reports daily Magyar Nemzet.

On the European Council agenda, there are three summits in December: one with China on Dec. 7, one on the Western Balkans on Dec. 13, and on the heels of the second, the European Council proper summit from Dec. 14 to Dec. 15. This last is the one that will be the most critical, with aid to Ukraine and the country’s potential EU membership topping the agenda.

Neither side revealed details of the two-hour meeting: Prime Minister Viktor Orbán only posted a handshake image with Michel, with the laconic text: “Useful consultations ahead of the December EU summit with the president of the European Council.”

However, political analyst Zoltán Kiszelly told daily Magyar Nemzet that the meeting probably revolved around a letter from Viktor Orbán, in which the prime minister wrote that until a strategic evaluation of aid to Ukraine is carried out, his country is not ready to make new commitments.

“So, we should not rush into Ukraine’s admission negotiations or the €50 billion loan without an impact assessment, and the heads of state and government who make the fundamental decisions have not discussed this,” Kiszelly said.

According to him, Michel knows that if the strategic debate were to take place and the case studies were to be carried out, it would become clear that Kyiv cannot even account for the €85 billion it has so far spent on Ukraine. It would also turn out that, in the case of membership, Ukraine would take everything in agricultural or cohesion aid and most EU member states would become contributors.

“This is what Brussels wants to avoid,” Kiszelly said.

“The more details the European public learns, the less they would support Brussels’ ambitions. And we see everyone from Dutch farmers to Polish truckers protesting against Ukraine. The Brussels elite is imposing the consequences of its decisions on the people of Europe,” he added.

The European Commission is racing to push Ukraine into the EU, and disburse ever higher sums of money to a non-EU member state. Hungary, in turn, has been denied €10.4 billion in EU recovery funds that had been earmarked for the country over alleged rule of law violations.

November 28, 2023 Posted by | Economics | , , | 1 Comment

EU must reconsider Ukraine policy – Orban

RT | November 22, 2023

Hungarian Prime Minister Viktor Orban has demanded that the European Union re-examine its strategy of funding Ukraine’s battle with Russia, saying he would stand in the way of further aid unless the bloc’s leaders make sure their objectives are “realistically attainable” without continued US support.

Orban made his threat in a letter to European Council chief Charles Michel, saying that no discussion on funding for Ukraine, Kiev’s accession to the EU, or further sanctions against Russia can happen until a “strategic discussion” is held, Politico reported on Wednesday. According to the outlet, the letter called for such a review to take place when EU leaders meet in Brussels next month.

“The European Council should take stock of the implementation and effectiveness of our current policies towards Ukraine, including various assistance programs,” Orban wrote.

He added that with future aid from Kiev’s chief benefactor, the US, imperiled by partisan bickering in Washington, European leaders need to reassess whether they should stay the course.

“The European Council must have a frank and open discussion on the feasibility of the EU’s strategic objectives in Ukraine,” Orban wrote.

Do we still regard these objectives realistically attainable? Is this strategy sustainable without robust support from the United States? Can we take continuing support from the United States for granted? How do we conceive the security architecture of Europe after the war?

The European Council isn’t prepared to make key decisions on Ukraine policies – including security guarantees, further aid, Russia sanctions, and expansion of the EU – until member states reach a consensus on their strategy, according to Orban.

The Hungarian leader could use Budapest’s veto power as an EU member to block delivery of €50 billion ($54.4 billion) in economic aid pledged to help fund Ukraine’s government amid the conflict with Russia, as well as €500 million in military assistance. Orban could also stall the decision on opening formal negotiations with Kiev to join the EU.

Orban has repeatedly clashed with the EU on issues ranging from Russia sanctions to illegal immigration to LGBTQ propaganda. The EU is withholding €13 billion in funding to Hungary over the country’s alleged breaches of the bloc’s “rule-of-law” standards.

The Hungarian PM has called for a negotiated end to the Russia-Ukraine conflict, rather than prolonging the crisis and risking further escalation. Last month, he likened the bloc’s domineering tactics to the Soviet Union, calling Brussels a “bad contemporary parody” of the USSR.

Hungarian Foreign Minister Peter Szijjarto suggested on Saturday that some European leaders have lost touch with reality when it comes to the Ukraine crisis.

“Some people imagine themselves in Fortnite,” he said, referring to the popular video game. “They suffer from military psychosis and, for some reason, believe that arms shipments can bring peace.”

November 22, 2023 Posted by | Militarism | , , | Leave a comment

EU politicians have Ukraine ‘military psychosis’ – Hungarian FM

RT | November 19, 2023

Many high-ranking politicians from the European Union are out of touch with reality when it comes to the Russia-Ukraine conflict, Hungarian Foreign Minister Peter Szijjarto said on Saturday.

Unlike other EU countries, Hungary has refused to send weapons or other lethal aid to Ukraine, insisting that it is focused on finding a peaceful resolution to the hostilities.

“A significant part of the European political elite has practically lost common sense. Some people imagine themselves in Fortnite,” Szijjarto said at a political event in Budapest, referring to the popular multiplayer video game.

“They suffer from military psychosis, and, for some mysterious reason, believe that arms shipments can bring peace.”

“It is clear to us that we need peace instead of weapons. Whoever brings weapons into our neighborhood, prolongs the war. And the longer the war, the more people will die and greater destruction will occur,” the diplomat added.

Budapest has harshly criticized the European bloc’s sanctions on Russia over its actions in Ukraine. Prime Minister Viktor Orban has described the restrictions as a failure that have only exacerbated the energy crisis and the already high inflation rates across the continent.

Earlier this month, Orban said Kiev is “light years away” from joining the EU. Ukraine formally applied to become a member of the bloc in February 2022, hoping for an expedited admission process in light of Russia’s military operation.

November 19, 2023 Posted by | Militarism | , , | Leave a comment

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