Hungarian Prime Minister Viktor Orban has warned that Brussels is \u201crapidly drifting\u201d toward a direct confrontation with Russia<\/p>\n
Hungarian Prime Minister Viktor Orban has launched a petition against the EU\u2019s \u201cwar agenda,\u201d warning that by continuing to support Ukraine, the bloc is heading toward a direct confrontation with Russia.
\nThe veteran leader has long criticized Brussels\u2019 \u201cwarmongering\u201d stance toward Russia. Addressing supporters at a farmers\u2019 market in Budapest on Saturday, Orban announced that his Fidesz party approved his proposal to launch a national petition against Brussels\u2019 war policies.
\n\u201dEurope has a war plan that includes going to war against the Russians and giving the Ukrainians everything they ask for. We must stay out of this,\u201d the prime minister said, calling on every Hungarian to join the drive and to take part in a peace march on October 23, later reiterating the call on Facebook.
\n\u201dWe are heading into a hot autumn. Europe is drifting toward war at an ever-faster pace. A few weeks ago, in Copenhagen, Brussels unveiled its war plan: Europe pays, Ukrainians fight, and Russia is exhausted,\u201d Orban wrote. He was referring to an informal European Council summit in Denmark that discussed increasing military aid to Ukraine and creating an EU \u201cdrone wall.\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cWe must show that the Hungarian people do not want war. That is why today we are launching a national signature drive against Brussels\u2019 war plans.\u201d<\/p>\n
READ MORE: Zelensky has \u2018lost sense of reality\u2019 \u2013 Hungarian FM<\/p>\n
It remains unclear how Orban intends to use the results of the petition, though they could be presented at the upcoming EU leaders\u2019 summit in late October.<\/p>\n
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EU member states maintain that Western aid for Ukraine must continue, while pushing for rapid militarization on the pretext of countering the perceived \u2018Russian threat\u2019.
\nRecent measures include the \u20ac800 billion ($930 billion) ReArm Europe program and a pledge by NATO members to raise defense spending to 5% of GDP.
\nLast month, NATO approved the $500 million Prioritized Ukraine Requirements List (PURL) initiative, enabling the US to supply weapons to Kiev while European members cover the costs.
\nRussia has dismissed claims that it poses a threat as \u201cnonsense\u201d used by Western governments to justify soaring military budgets, warning that continued aid to Ukraine only prolongs the conflict.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"
Hungarian Prime Minister Viktor Orban has warned that Brussels is \u201crapidly drifting\u201d toward a direct confrontation with Russia Hungarian Prime Minister Viktor Orban has launched a petition against the EU\u2019s…<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":20191,"comment_status":"","ping_status":"","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"rop_custom_images_group":[],"rop_custom_messages_group":[],"rop_publish_now":"initial","rop_publish_now_accounts":[],"rop_publish_now_history":[],"rop_publish_now_status":"pending","footnotes":""},"categories":[4,6,3],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-20190","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-economy","category-environment","category-politics"],"aioseo_notices":[],"aioseo_head":"\n\t\t\n\t\n\t\n\t\n\t\t\n\t\t\n\t\t\n\t\t\n\t\t\n\t\t\n\t\t\n\t\t\n\t\t\n\t\t\n\t\t\n\t\t\n\t\t