Orban, who is facing a difficult election on April 3, has refused to provide military assistance to Ukraine – only among the EU’s neighbors in Ukraine – and has not allowed deadly weapons to be transported to Ukraine beyond the Hungarian border. Arguing that providing such assistance to Ukraine would drag Hungary into the war, Orban – while avoiding ever mentioning Putin by name – has presented himself as a defender of his country’s peace and security while insisting that EU sanctions against of Russia do not extend to its energy sector, of which Hungary is the main beneficiary. “The answer to the question of which side Hungary is on is that Hungary is on Hungary’s side,” Orban wrote on social media on Saturday. While his approach has gained traction among many of his supporters, Orban’s reluctance to act clearly in favor of Ukraine and his insistence on maintaining Russia’s economic interests has led to frustration and anger among other European leaders – especially his own. chairman. In a video speech Friday at an EU summit, Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy made a frank, direct call to Orban to take a clearer stance on Russia’s war against Ukraine and to support his besieged country. “I want to stop here and be honest, once and for all. “You have to decide for yourself who you are with,” said Zelensky. Zelensky recalled that the Hungarian capital, Budapest, had experienced the horrors of war in the 20th century and referred to a bronze shoe monument on the Danube to pay tribute to Hungarian Jews executed by Germans and Greeks. War. “Listen, Victor, do you know what is happening in Mariupol?” said Zelensky, referring to the Ukrainian city in the Sea of Azov that has suffered catastrophic Russian bombing. “Please, if you can, go to your waterfront. Look at these shoes. And you will see how mass murders can be repeated in today’s world. That is what Russia is doing today. “ While Orban voted in favor of most EU sanctions against Russia, Zelensky criticized him for opposing sanctions on Russian energy imports – considered one of the EU’s most effective possible means of putting pressure on the Kremlin – and that he was the only one. Ukraine’s neighbor in the EU who refused to provide military assistance. “Are you hesitant to impose sanctions or not? Do you hesitate to let the guns pass or not? And do you hesitate to trade with Russia or not? It’s time to decide already. “We believe in you, we need your support,” said the Ukrainian leader. However, Orban rejected Zelensky’s emotional appeal, saying on Friday in a video posted on social media that the Ukrainian president’s demands were “against Hungary’s interests”. He argued that sanctions on Russian energy “would mean that the Hungarian economy would slow down and then stop within minutes”. A blockade on Russian energy exports would force the Hungarians to “pay the price of the war,” Orban said, noting that 85% of Hungary ‘s gas and more than 60% of its oil comes from Russia. As the Hungarian elections approach and Orban seeks to protect his country’s long-term gas and nuclear contracts with Russia, his stance has threatened relations with his closest regional allies in the Visegrad Alliance of Europe. Poland, Czech Republic, Slovakia and Hungary. Poland, like Hungary, has long been a target of EU efforts to combat democratic backwardness and rule of law violations, and is a firm ally in Orban’s efforts to reduce the power of EU institutions in the Member States. . However, centuries of Russian rule have given the Poles a deep distrust of Moscow. The Polish government in Warsaw sincerely condemned Putin and supported Ukraine. Orban’s refusal to act in the same way has created rifts in relations between the two countries. Speaking on Polish public radio on Friday, the leader of Poland’s ruling party and Orban’s ally, Jaroslaw Kaczynski, said he was unhappy with Orban’s stance on Russia. “If you asked me if I was happy, I would say no,” Kaczynski said. “We will see what happens after the elections and then this assessment can finally be made. “But we are not happy.” Also Friday, Czech Defense Minister Jana Chernohova said she would not attend a meeting of the Visegrad four defense ministers in Hungary next week. In a tweet, Cernochova said she did not want to get involved in Hungary’s election campaign, but criticized Hungary’s stance on the war in Ukraine. “I am really sorry that cheap Russian oil is more important to Hungarian politicians than the blood of Ukraine,” he wrote.
Associated Press author Vanessa Gera in Warsaw, Poland, contributed to this report.
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