Hungarian Prime Minister He said Ukraine is “light years” away from being invited to join the European Union in comments on Saturday.
At his party’s semi-annual congress, Viktor Orban said he and his government would oppose December talks on whether Ukraine should be invited to begin membership negotiations, according to the Associated Press.
Orban said: “Our mission will be to correct the false promise to start negotiations with Ukraine, because Ukraine is now light years away from the European Union.”
Orban threatened to withdraw his support for Ukraine in light of its ongoing war with Russia in the past, regarding its treatment of ethnic Hungarians. He told lawmakers he was protesting a 2017 law restricting Hungarians from speaking their language, saying Hungary would not support Ukraine when it comes to international issues, “until previous laws are restored” in September.
He added that “Hungary is doing everything for peace” in the war between Ukraine and Russia.
He added: “But unfortunately, the Russian-Ukrainian war continues, and tens of thousands of people are the victims,” according to texts of the speech published by Hungarian media. “Diplomats must take back control from the hands of soldiers, otherwise it will be in vain for women to wait for their sons, fathers and husbands to return home.”
Orban is also one of Russian President Vladimir Putin’s only allies in the European Union. He also said that negotiations on allowing Ukraine to join the European Union should not begin when the country is at war.
The Associated Press contributed.
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