Hungarian Prime Minister: Ukraine must be a 'buffer zone'.
(Baonghean.vn) - Hungarian Prime Minister Viktor Orban believes that Ukraine's best geopolitical gamble would be to become a "buffer zone" between Russia and the West, under agreements aimed at ensuring the country's future security.
The Hungarian Prime Minister made the remark during a debate with former Austrian Chancellor Wolfgang Schussel, with excerpts from the exchange published by the Vienna daily Die Presse.
Prime Minister Orban disagreed with Schussel's view that the Ukrainian crisis could only be resolved if negotiations on Ukraine's accession to the EU and NATO coincided with the start of ceasefire talks. "Whether we like it or not, whether the Ukrainians like it or not, Ukraine is still on the map. The best-case scenario is the formation of a buffer zone between Russia and the West – with security guarantees, of course. Otherwise," according to Prime Minister Orban, "Ukraine will lose territory" and "the Russians will destroy Ukraine again and again."
He emphasized that Moscow would "never accept an EU and NATO member like Ukraine right on its doorstep." Prime Minister Orban also rejected claims by officials in Brussels and Kyiv that Ukraine was "protecting" Europe. He asserted: "Ukraine offers Europeans no additional security guarantees because most of us are already members of NATO, an organization far stronger than Russia," while stressing there was "no risk" of Russia attacking a member of the bloc. He also rejected Schussel's argument that a ceasefire would effectively mean Ukraine's defeat, stating that this depends on how each person views the future, as Kyiv could lose more territory. Prime Minister Orban argued that the EU is also unable to provide Ukraine with enough weapons and money, and declared that citizens of the bloc are "dissatisfied with their governments' increasing financial support for Ukraine."
Russia has repeatedly expressed concern about NATO's uncontrolled expansion toward its borders following the collapse of the Soviet Union, with President Vladimir Putin asserting that Ukraine's push to join the military alliance was one of the main reasons for the current conflict.