Orbán outraged: Ukraine has no money, weapons, power but seeks no peace

Hungary’s government will protect families by all means possible, Prime Minister Viktor Orbán told public radio on Friday.The prime minister said he believed the measures introduced so far were enough to push inflation down to single digits by year-end.

Steps must be taken against multinationals that act like speculators

Multinational retail chains are taking advantage of the price increases resulting from the war and the related sanctions and trying to raise prices, Orbán said. This had a significant effect on inflation, “so steps must be taken against multinationals that act like speculators”, he added, noting that the government had taken appropriate action. Other countries are introducing other kinds of measures, he said, adding that price caps had gone “out of style”. Hungary, too, has switched to implementing mandatory discounts, but some countries are bringing back caps on the price of fuel and basic food products, Orbán said.

There is a variety of measures that can be taken, and if necessary, the government will take further steps, he said, adding that they “won’t sit idly by”, but protect the people and families by all means possible. The war and the sanctions imposed in response to it also played a role, he said, and they, too, required action. Hungary has opposed the war and sanctions since the beginning and has always aimed to localise the conflict, he said. But the country cannot make itself immune their effects, “so the whole situation is unfair to Hungarians”, the prime minister added.

Despite the fact that the European Union is fundamentally a “peace project”, right now the “pro-war” side is the one with an overwhelming majority, he insisted. Orbán said a worsening economic situation would be the deciding factor that forces the governments of European Union member states into “joining the peace camp” and bringing a swift end to the war in Ukraine.

Read also:

• Secret organisation recruits volunteers in Hungary to fight for Russia in Ukraine
• Putin apologised to Hungary while Orbán talked about 50 pc chance of a Huxit

Without EU money and arms Ukraine would lose

“Ukraine wouldn’t be able to fight this war if we didn’t give it weapons and a lot of money,” he said. “We’ve given Ukraine some 180 billion forints’ worth of EU funds since the start of the war, and in exchange we haven’t got a single step closer to peace; in fact, it’s more like we’re farther away from it,” he said. “The decisive means are in the hands of the Americans,” Orbán added.

As regards rising fuel prices, the prime minister said the 3.5-fold increase in the fee Ukraine charges for piping crude from Russia was costing Hungary an extra 48 billion forints (EUR 125m). Ukraine raised the fee overnight, he noted, adding that private players in the petrol trade in Hungary incorporated the extra fee into prices, pushing up the price of petrol and increasing inflation by half a percent. Orbán said he was conflicted about the price hike: angry but also sorry for Ukrainians “fighting for their lives”.