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PM Orbán: Those who want peace should choose the national side

Prime Minister Viktor Orbán sat down with Hungarian daily Magyar Nemzet for an interview published this morning ahead of tomorrow’s elections.

"There is no doubt that responsibility for the war rests squarely on the shoulders of the Russians, whatever the path was that brought them to this decision. In such a situation, those in trouble must be helped, and this is why we are helping Ukraine — not because it is fighting ‘our war’,” Prime Minister Viktor Orbán told Magyar Nemzet.

The prime minister added that there are Western countries that want to arrange the post-war world in such a way that "there is a complete division between the West and the East.” He stressed that if this were to happen, it would be bad for Hungarians and for Central Europe as a whole.

"History has taught us that if conflict and isolation develop between the world's major powers, we are the ones who suffer," the prime minister said.

According to PM Orbán, NATO represents the same view as the Hungarian government: The alliance's decision is that there should be no war and that there should be no armed conflict beyond NATO's borders.

"If Poland or the Baltic states had been attacked, the situation would be different," the prime minister said, adding that the situation in the European Union is more complicated, but "the big countries, the Germans, the French, have similar views to ours.”

On the V4, the prime minister said that the members have always been challenged by the fact that the four countries have a different “Eastern policy.” He also said that the Visegrád Four is not a geopolitical organization, nor was it set up for that purpose, but established to jointly represent Central European interests in disputes within the EU. In PM Orbán’s view, the V4 will continue to fulfill its original mission well into the future and there is no difference of opinion on this point.
Referring to the parliamentary elections, he said that the opposition parties had "risked everything and will lose everything on Sunday. Incompatible programs, incompatible values, mutually exclusive intellectual content."

The prime minister also said that the opposition parties supported the idea of "cutting off Russian gas and oil," which would jeopardize the utility cost reduction program. He stressed that the opposition did not vote for the family support system, the housing support system, and everything that "provides a solid base for today's Hungarian economy.”

"It is obvious that these foundations would be torn up, as they were after 2002. And it is well known what the result would be: total collapse and the threat of national bankruptcy after a few years," he added.

Closing with what’s at stake in Sunday’s election, Prime Minister Viktor Orbán said that it is about "war or peace. If we want peace, we should choose the national side; as for those who want war, they should support the Left.