Ukrainians fight valiantly, and it is up to them to decide whether to continue – Hungarian Prime Minister

Hungarian Prime Minister Viktor Orbán assures that he has never told Ukrainians what to do in the context of the war with Russia, but adds he is ready to help as "a good neighbour".

Source: Orbán at a press conference after an informal EU summit in Budapest, as reported by European Pravda

Details: Orbán noted that Ukraine is a sovereign country and that what Ukraine is doing is exclusively the responsibility of Ukrainian people.

"They decided to fight and they fought heroically anyway, it’s their decision to continue or not," he said.

The Hungarian prime minister said that his efforts are only aimed at isolating Hungary from the danger of war and a possible situation that would have a negative impact on Hungary.

"In July, I went to Kyiv and Moscow as well, and I was criticised heavily for that. But what I have done in Ukraine [was] not to convince the Ukrainians to do something. I just tried to explain to the president [Zelenskyy – ed.] that ‘Please, my friend, the time is not on your side and I am ready to help you to create somehow a ceasefire and then, later on, a better [conditions] for peace.’ I was rejected because the president said that ‘Viktor, this is not my point, my point is, as President of Ukraine, that the time is on our side’," Orbán said.

He said that with both sides convinced that time is on their side, he tried to create the broadest possible international peaceful climate and then, sooner or later, to persuade the warring parties to negotiate.

"I would never dare to say what should be done by Ukrainians. [It’s] their country, their future, their life, their sovereign country. But I am ready to help them as I did many times, because [they are] neighbouring country [that] fought heroically and they deserve a better future than as it looks like just now," Orbán said.

Background:

• Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdoğan said that the Russo-Ukrainian war could "easily end" if a problem-solving approach was applied by the US administration led by Donald Trump.
• After the European Political Community summit, President Volodymyr Zelenskyy stated he believed Trump wanted a swift end to the war, though this may entail losses for Ukraine.

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