Hungary’s situation in the light of current events – Orbán’s speech (Part 1)

Hungary’s top priority is to stay out of the war between Russia and Ukraine, Prime Minister Viktor Orbán told a congress of farmers’ association Magosz and the National Agricultural Chamber (NAK) on Saturday.

“We condemn war, especially now that it’s taking place in our neighbouring country; we say no to violence, and all of this is important, but the most important thing is for Hungary to stay out of this armed conflict,” the prime minister said.

Orbán said all wars could be examined from several different perspectives, and should be, but only one perspective mattered when it came to making decisions. “We can only look at it through one kind of glasses: the Hungarian kind,” he said.

He said the government had “taken no wrong steps” over the past several days and would not do so in the coming weeks either, because “we’ll be able to remain calm even in the most difficult moments”. “We won’t change our perspective . on war for any other kind of foreign perspective recommended from abroad.”

The prime minister said it was important for the government to continue making decisions in the months ahead that would prevent “Hungarians paying the price of war”.

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Hungary’s open trade and investment regime means that its interests lie in a free and open world which has now been made more difficult because of war, Orban said. This means that Hungary’s entire foreign trade strategy needs to be adjusted to the current situation, which the government will do in the coming days, he added.

“It’s not just our hearts but also our pockets that determine our interest in having peace as quickly as possible and regaining a part of our markets that have shrunk due to the war,” Orbán said.