EU sanctions, are “a step towards war” for Orban

Hungarian Prime Minister Viktor Orban on Friday called EU sanctions against Russia a “step towards war”, stepping up its criticism of a Brussels strategy deemed “dangerous”. "Anyone who intervenes economically in a military conflict takes a stand", declared the nationalist leader during his traditional interview with a radio close to the government.

"Step by step, we are sliding towards war”, he insisted, worrying about the accumulation of measures taken to sanction the Russian offensive in Ukraine. Viktor Orban regularly denounces European sanctions, even if he voted for them alongside his partners, blaming them for the economic woes of this central European country.

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The economy contracted in the third quarter (compared to the second) and inflation exceeds 20%, even reaching 45% in food. The government has launched a “national consultation” on the subject and plastered posters around the country with a message flanked by a photo of a missile: “The sanctions from Brussels are ruining us”.

The Prime Minister said he was ready to “fight” a possible new sanctions package and ensure that Hungary, highly dependent on Russian hydrocarbons, be "exempted", as is the case with the oil embargo.

“Now we provide destructive weapons, we train Ukrainian soldiers on our own territory, we impose energy sanctions.(…) We become part of the conflict, insisted M. Orban. “We are not being shot at yet., but we are about to become a belligerent. Europe is playing a very dangerous game., did he conclude.

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