The European Union’s strategy for the war in Ukraine has “failed” and the EU bloc must create a plan B because the Ukrainians will not win on the front lines, Prime Minister Viktor Orban said on Hungarian state radio on Friday, Reuters reports.

Viktor Orban, speaking in Brussels on the sidelines of the EU summit, said that there is a “big battle” going on, especially regarding support for Ukraine. Orbán said that he sees no reason for Hungary to force its taxpayers to support Ukraine.

In December, the EU is due to decide on a review of its €1.1 trillion budget for 2021-2027, which is already strained by extraordinary spending during the COVID pandemic and following Russia’s 2022 invasion of Ukraine.

The bloc’s leadership suggested member states increase contributions to their joint budgets to provide Ukraine with 50 billion euros and spend another 15 billion euros on migration. Another proposal provides for the allocation of 20 billion euros in military aid to Ukraine.

“This strategy failed”

“We found that this proposal was not properly drafted and was not suitable to be the basis for serious negotiations, so we rejected it,” Orbán said. “It was a big battle, especially as far as the Ukrainian issue is concerned.” .

Orban said the biggest problem is that Brussels’ strategy to send money and military aid to Ukraine to help it fight Russia has failed.

“Today, everyone knows, but does not dare to say out loud, that this strategy has failed. It’s obvious that it won’t work… Ukrainians won’t win on the front line,” he said, adding that a plan B and an estimate for it are needed.

“When we know how much it costs, we can share the burden between us.”

Orban, a nationalist who has been at odds with Brussels for the past 13 years over policies that his critics say have undermined democratic values ​​in Hungary, said Brussels needed a change of leadership in next year’s European elections.

Ten days in which Viktor Orbán angered the West

Hungarian Prime Minister Viktor Orbán and his government began a veritable tour de force last Tuesday to illustrate the different path Budapest is taking compared to its partners in the European Union and the West.

Orbán’s campaign to annoy Western partners began last Tuesday in Beijing, where he met with Russian President Vladimir Putin. The meeting between the two was the first time a European Union head of government or state met with the Kremlin’s leader since last year he sparked Europe’s biggest military conflict since the end of World War II.

The Russian president took the opportunity to express his satisfaction that his country still has an “exchange” with an EU member state.

“Due to the current geopolitical conditions, the opportunities for maintaining contacts and developing relations are very limited. But it is pleasing that (Russia) maintains relations with many European countries, and Hungary is one of them,” Putin told the Hungarian Prime Minister. “It is very important to be able to exchange with the country of the European Union,” he emphasized.

As for Orbán, he emphasized the “importance of peace,” saying that stopping the flow of refugees, sanctions and fighting in Ukraine is “key for the entire continent,” including Hungary.

Orban is proud of his meeting with Putin

Two days after the meeting between them, the Hungarian ambassadors of NATO member countries met in Budapest at the initiative of the US representative to discuss their “concern” about Hungary’s continued ties with Russia.

“We are all concerned that the Prime Minister of Hungary met with President Putin at a time when Russia is waging a war of aggression against Ukraine,” US Ambassador David Pressman told Radio Free Europe, adding that “it is troubling that Hungary has decided cooperate with the Kremlin in this way.”

He also condemned Orbán’s use of the term “military operation,” sanctified by the Kremlin and Russian propaganda, to describe the conflict in Ukraine.

Since Tuesday, the American ambassador has been criticizing the Budapest leader for his meeting with Putin, saying that Orbán “stands with the man whose forces are responsible for crimes against humanity in Ukraine.”

This Thursday, Orbán strongly rejected the allegations, saying he was “proud” of his contacts with Putin.

“We want to do everything possible for peace. Therefore, we leave open all lines of communication with the Russians, otherwise there will be no chance for peace. This is a strategy, we are proud of it,” Orbán said on Thursday in Brussels, where he arrived for a summit of 27 EU member states.

“We are the only ones who speak in the name of peace, which is in the interests of everyone in Europe,” he asserted.