There can be no winner in Ukraine war: Hungarian premier

BELGRADE, Serbia

There can be no winner in the Moscow-Kyiv war, and urgent cease-fire and peace talks need to start as soon as possible, Hungarian Prime Minister Viktor Orban told the state radio Kossuth Radio on Friday.

"Russia cannot win the war because the West is mobilizing so much weapons, energy, and money for Ukraine that it is impossible to win an open military confrontation against such a power, but vice versa, because those who think that Russia, a nuclear power, can be defeated are mistaken," said Orban.

Orban said a proposal to send peacekeeping forces to the territory of Ukraine may be on the agenda soon.

According to Orban, it was wrong for Europe that it did not limit aiding Ukraine, as it is dragged into war more and more with each passing day.

Russia launched its war on Ukraine on Feb. 24 last year.

NATO bids of Sweden, Finland

Orban said he asked deputies of his nationalist Fidesz party to support Finland and Sweden's NATO bids but that there is a dispute over the issue.

"If Sweden and Finland want Hungary to be fair and contribute to (their) NATO membership, then these countries should take the same steps and not spread false claims about Hungary," Orban said.

He also said Türkiye's voice over its concerns about Sweden's bid needs to be heard.

"Türkiye also has concerns about Sweden and that these should be taken into account. Türkiye's concern is that there are terrorist organizations operating against Türkiye in Sweden. They (Türkiye) are our allies and we should hear their voices," said Orban.

Hungary’s ruling party remains divided over the NATO bids of Finland and Sweden as the National Assembly, the country’s parliament, prepares to vote on the matter at the beginning of March.

Deputies do not want to support the two countries on the grounds that they are spreading false allegations about Hungary.

Türkiye and Hungary are the only NATO members that are yet to ratify the two countries’ bids.

Finland and Sweden abandoned their longstanding policies of military nonalignment and applied for membership in the alliance after Russia launched its war on Ukraine last February.

But NATO member Türkiye has not yet endorsed their accession, which requires unanimous approval from all alliance members.

According to Turkish officials, the two countries, particularly Sweden, have yet to take necessary steps against terrorism.

Ankara has hinted, however, that it is considering ratifying Finland’s NATO membership application separately from that of Sweden.