The European Union’s sanctions policy against Russia is “primitive in execution and catastrophic in effect,” Hungarian Prime Minister Viktor Orbán said Tuesday during a debate in Berlin, quoted by MTI and Agerpres.

During a panel discussion with Alexandre Marguier, editor-in-chief of the political magazine Cicero, and Holger Friedrich, owner of the Berliner Zeitung, Orbán said that a “proper sanctions policy” would have stopped the sharp rise in energy prices and European economies would not have stalled. will face ruin.

The EU’s sanctions policy “ignores European values”, destroying the economies of Germany and Hungary, while “helping Moscow earn as much energy revenue in six months as it used to get in a year”, Orbán insisted.

He emphasized that he is not against “sanctions as a means”, but against their implementation. Sanctions should be imposed “sensibly”, Orbán said.

Viktor Orban spoke about the Russian “giant”.

In the case of the EU, “a dwarf imposes sanctions on a giant (…) and the dwarf will die because of it,” he said.

He called for a review of EU sanctions and energy reform so that the EU would achieve independence and not “simply change masters”, moving from dependence on Russia to dependence on the US.

The latter, he said, “would be more convenient from a political point of view, because the Americans, unlike the Russians, are democrats,” but “it would not be good,” since Europe, as a client, “must have four-p on the table” offers to choose from.”

Europe should be able to “buy energy from, for example, America, Algeria, Qatar or even Russia,” he added.

The Prime Minister of Hungary praised Angela Merkel

At the same time, he accused the European Commission of destroying the “energy zone” due to the sanctions imposed against Russia.

“Therefore, when it comes to sanctions, I am obliged to say that I have a problem and (…) if you do not come to the rescue, I will use my right of veto (…). You cannot beat the Hungarians by pushing them aside and leaving them in a corner,” Orbán said.

Among other things, Hungarian Prime Minister Viktor Orbán on Tuesday praised former German Chancellor Angela Merkel, saying she could have prevented Russia’s war in Ukraine if she were still in office.

At the same event in Berlin, Orbán said Merkel had prevented war in 2014 by her actions after Russia’s illegal annexation of Crimea.

“What Angela Merkel did during the Crimean crisis was a masterpiece,” he said, according to an official translation.

Orban, a right-wing leader widely criticized in Germany’s center-left government, particularly over his stance on the EU, met with Merkel on Sunday during her visit to Berlin. It is not known what they discussed.

Orban called Donald Trump Ukraine’s hope for peace

At the same event, organized by Cicero, a political and cultural magazine, Orbán said that US President Joe Biden is not the person to end the struggle in Ukraine.

According to him, an agreement between the United States and Russia is needed. But Biden went too far in criticizing President Vladimir Putin, Orbán argued.

“It may sound harsh, but they call Donald Trump the hope for peace,” he concluded. In early August, the former US president said that Ukraine had to give up territory in order to negotiate with Vladimir Putin.

“They should have at least made a deal. He could give up Crimea. He could have done something with NATO, “Okay, we’re not going to join NATO,” and then you’d have a country, because I think Putin wanted to make a deal. And I think that now he does not want to make a deal. I think it’s much more difficult to make a deal. He undermines everything. I mean, he’s going to take the whole seat,” Donald Trump said.

Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyi on Sunday hit back at politicians suggesting Ukraine hold peace talks with Moscow, saying a country like Russia that attacks civilian targets has no intention of negotiating.

Follow the latest events of the 230th day of the war in Ukraine LIVETEXT on HOTNEWS.RO.