BRUSSELS

Hungarian said the country avoided involvement in the Kosovo war in 1999 by rejecting a direct request from the US president, said the country’s premier on Monday.

"I remember when, in 1999, I got a call from the president of the United States at the time, President (Bill) Clinton," Viktor Orban said in a video on US social media company X.

He explained that Clinton asked him to open a southern front against Serbian forces through Vojvodina, northern Serbia, toward the capital Belgrade.

"So the fact that you did not end up in a war at that time required that the government of the day say 'No, sir' to the direct request of the American president. If we had had a prime minister back then who only knew how to say 'Yes, sir' then you would have been in that war up to your neck," he said.

Orban himself was prime minister in 1999 – age 36 – during his 1998-2002 term in office. In 2010 he again became premier, a position that he still holds.

Orban said the request was scheduled to be discussed further at a NATO summit in Washington the following week but was never brought up again.

"It is possible to say no if you have the courage to do so," he added.

Orban’s reputation as a man who can say no has held steady in the years since, as – for instance – he has repeatedly opposed sending military aid or financial support to Ukraine, arguing that such assistance would prolong the war.