Budapest, Dec 20 (IANS) Ending the conflict in Ukraine is of primary economic interest for Europe, a sentiment shared by European leaders, Hungarian Prime Minister Viktor Orban said during his regular Friday morning interview on Hungarian public radio.
Speaking from Brussels, Orban said that “those farther away from the war can develop at a much greater pace than us Europeans, who are in the vicinity.”
He expressed his belief that European leaders “feel this too.” In Hungary, people “have had enough of this state of war, enough of the inflation, enough of the sanctions,” Orban said, adding that citizens want their national economies to return to the path of development.
The Hungarian prime minister stressed the importance of establishing a “lasting, predictable security system” once the conflict ends, Xinhua news agency reported.
Orban highlighted the financial toll of the conflict in Ukraine, which has cost Europeans 310 billion euros (322.3 billion US dollars) to date, including the United States spendings.
This immense sum could have been invested in transformative projects, such as elevating the Western Balkans to European standards, fostering development in migration-source regions like the Sahel to curb migration, or strengthening Europe’s neglected military and defense capabilities, he said.
Orban expressed optimism that Europe is moving closer to achieving peace, particularly with a new US president and a shift in transatlantic relations on the horizon.
He also proposed a symbolic Christmas ceasefire lasting two to three days, underscoring that peace is an attainable goal. Orban noted that he had convinced the Russian president to at least consider the ceasefire proposal.
On December 12, Orban and Russian President Vladimir Putin had held extensive phone talks on energy cooperation and Ukraine.
Both Orban and Putin were “in full agreement that everything must be done to maintain energy cooperation,” a statement issued by Hungarian Foreign Minister Peter Szijjarto said.
During the phone talks which lasted for more than one hour, Putin made it clear that Russia was committed to maintaining energy cooperation and guaranteeing Hungary’s energy supply, the statement said, adding that the current US administration, by placing Russia’s Gazprombank under sanctions, had made it hard for some central and south-east European countries, including Hungary, to make payments for natural gas and nuclear fuel.
The statement said Orban and Putin agreed that all means must be explored “to eliminate this problem,” and there was nothing on either Hungary or Russia’s part to prevent a solution from being found.
Regarding Ukraine, Orban spoke “at length” with Putin on achieving a sustainable peace settlement, while Putin mentioned obstacles to peace such as the Ukrainian law that “essentially prohibits the current presidential administration from negotiating peace” with Russia, the statement said.
–IANS
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