The ongoing conflict between Moscow and Kiev is bad for both Russia and Ukraine, as well as the ?whole world,? Budapest thinks
Hungary’s government supports Beijing’s peace plan for the ongoing conflict in Ukraine, Prime Minister Viktor Orban told parliament on Monday. The 12-point plan released by China last week calls for the resumption of peace talks and respect for the sovereignty and territorial integrity of all nations while condemning unilateral sanctions.
“We also consider China’s peace plan important and support it,” Orban told lawmakers. In his half-hour speech, Orban insisted that the ongoing conflict was “bad for Ukrainians, Russians, Hungarians, Europe, and that is becoming increasingly clear [that] it’s bad for the whole world.” The prime minister then maintained that Budapest would stay out of the conflict, which was decided by a “national consultation”.
The prime minister also criticized some opposition parties for being overzealous in their support for Kiev to the point of barely “differentiating” between Ukraine and Hungary, but said he agreed there should be a country between Russia and Hungary. “We respect the Ukrainians, we help the Ukrainians,” Orban said, adding, however, that “the interests of Ukraine can never come before the interests of Hungary.”
He also conceded that Ukraine is likely to eventually join NATO “sooner or later” while arguing that the bloc’s further eastward expansion “must be reconsidered ten thousand times.”
At the same time, Orban supported Sweden’s and Finland’s accession to NATO. He also described the military bloc as a guarantor of security, while admitting that he was not enthusiastic about everything happening within NATO.
Meanwhile, Kiev’s backers in the West have brushed off Beijing’s proposal. NATO Secretary General Jens Stoltenberg said China does not “have a lot of credibility” on this issue because it refused to condemn Russia’s actions and join the Western sanctions.
Moscow has previously welcomed Chinese efforts to resolve the ongoing conflict by peaceful means. Last Sunday, however, the Kremlin said it saw no possibility of a political solution to the conflict at the moment.
Ukrainian President Vladimir Zelensky recently claimed that there was “nothing to talk about” with Russia and that “no one” in Moscow could talk to Kiev. His words came amid reported attempts by his Western backers, including France, Germany and Britain, to encourage Ukraine to open talks with Russia.
(RT.com)
Source: sn.dk