Orbán: Postwar Ukraine should serve as buffer state between Russia, NATO

Hungarian Prime Minister Viktor Orbán has stated that after the war, Ukraine should exist as a buffer state between Russia and NATO.

In an interview with Welt am Sonntag, Orbán emphasised that the only long-term solution is to restore Ukraine’s buffer-state status.

“The only possible long-term solution is for the postwar order to be based on the principle that Ukraine once again becomes a buffer state, as it once was,” he said.

According to Orbán, Russia will retain control over the territories it has seized, as agreed at an international peace conference. The rest of Ukraine, in his view, should function as a buffer state with limited armed forces, coordinated between NATO and Russia.

Orbán also stressed that it is time to abandon illusions and face reality, as outlined in the U.S. 28-point peace plan: “First, time favors Russia, not Ukraine – which means that the longer peace is delayed, the more people and territory Ukraine will lose. Second, according to U.S. requirements, Russia will be reintegrated into the global economy,” he said.

He added that sanctions will be gradually lifted, frozen assets will be used to establish U.S.-Russian investment funds, and business ties will be restored.

By Khagan Isayev