Hungarian PM: Budapest not to budge under pressure from Kyiv or Brussels

Hungarian Prime Minister Viktor Orban has emphasised that Budapest will not bow to pressure from Kyiv or Brussels on several key issues.

“3/4 of Europeans reject Ukraine’s fast-tracked accession to the European Union. Yet Brussels presses ahead regardless. They do not care what people think, as long as only a few European governments have the strength to stand up against Brussels' will. Hungary is one of the exceptions,” Caliber.Az quotes Orban as saying in a post on X shared on January 29.

He noted that 95 per cent of Hungarians “have rejected Ukraine’s fast-tracked EU membership because they want to protect our farmers, the safety of our families, and peace in Hungary.“

“Our patriotic government is doing exactly what people have given it a mandate to do. We will not budge, no matter the pressure,” Orban’s post adds.

In another post on January 28, the Hungarian leader said his government will not send money to Ukraine, will not allow a ban on Russian oil and gas imports, and will not permit Ukraine to join the EU within two years “by trampling on EU law”.

“We did not seek conflict, yet for days now Hungary has been in the crosshairs. Still, neither threats from the president [of Ukraine, Volodymyr Zelensky], nor from the foreign minister [of Ukraine], nor from extremist military groups will deter us from standing up for the interests of Hungarians,” Orban stressed.

He added: “As long as Hungary has a patriotic government, decisions on these matters will not be made in Kyiv and not in Brussels either. This is well understood in Ukraine too. That is why they want a new, pro-Ukraine government in Budapest, and why the threats never stop.”