Viktor Orbán
NATO country: We had "enough" to let Putin invade
John Edgar
Published 23.33
Ukraine has been at war with Putin for more than two years.
Irresponsible, says Orbán's closest man.
- We probably wouldn't have done that, he says.
A political battle has dragged in over the NATO country of Hungary.
The background is an interview that Balazs Orbán, Prime Minister Viktor Orbán's closest adviser, did in the Hungarian media on Thursday, writes Radio Free Europe.
"Probably shouldn't have done that"
There, the top is doubtful that Hungary would act like Ukraine if the Russians invaded.
Balazs Orbán believes that Hungary has bitter experience of trying to fight the Russians.
In 1956, a popular uprising against the Soviet Union was brutally put down. Thousands of people were killed when armed civilians took the fight to Soviet troops.
- Considering 1956, we probably wouldn't have done what President Zelenskyi did two and a half years ago, said the top man according to Radio Free Europe.
- It is irresponsible because we can see that he has led his country into a defensive war with many dead and lost territory.
Furious for words
Orbán, who is also a member of the Hungarian parliament, believes that if Budapest had been allowed to decide, the invasion would not have ended in a protracted war - then they would have instead tried to change Zelenskyj's mind.
- It is their right, their independent decision. They were right to do so. But if we had been asked, we would not have advocated it in view of 1956, he says.
Now the opposition is furious and demands Balazs Orbán's resignation.
According to opposition leader Peter Magyar, the top has "no place in the Hungarian public after the scandalous and treasonous statements".
Leaving Hungary
He also believes that this "blackened the memory of the thousands of Hungarian freedom fighters who sacrificed their lives for freedom and independence"
In a post on Facebook, Magyar also took the opportunity to drag the Prime Minister into the picture:
"Orbán's government would hand over Hungary to the Russians without a fight".
Prime Minister Viktor Orbán has now been forced to go out and distance himself from his closest man's statements in his usual weekly speech on Hungarian radio.
Close to Putin
He said it is important to be "careful" when talking about sensitive topics.
- My political expert made an ambiguous statement, which was a mistake. Our society is built on the foundations of the 1956 revolution, has grown from it, Orbán said on the radio.
The Prime Minister has been a problem for other NATO countries since the invasion began.
Orbán, who is close to Putin, has refused to participate in sanctions against Russia, maintained economic exchanges with Moscow and refused to send arms to Ukraine.
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