One of President Vladimir Putin’s allies claimed a “violation of power” caused war in Europe. Viktor Orban’s comment comes as World War 3 fears continue to grow after Russia said it would send hypersonic missiles to Belarus.
Speaking at a youth festival, the Hungarian prime minister also claimed peace in Ukraine would come once Ukraine ditches its bid to be a NATO member. He said Putin and US President Donald Trump should also conclude a “comprehensive agreement” on key issues affecting global relations.
Speaking at the Esztergom youth festival, he said: “We need to understand that peace will come when the Americans, the Europeans and the Ukrainians all accept the fact that the Russians will never allow NATO to be in Ukraine on Russia’s western border.”
He claimed the main reason for the ongoing conflict was Ukraine’s desire to join NATO, which was supported by the previous US administration and most Western government. He claimed this was a “violation” of the balance of power in the world.
He said: “If the balance of power is violated, then war usually begins, as happened with Russia and Ukraine”.
Mr Orban said the presidents of Russia and the US should establish an agreement on issues such as arms control, energy trade and lifting Western sanctions against Russia. He appeared to blame the EU for a lack of an agreement.
He said: “The entire EU, with the exception of Hungary and perhaps Slovakia, is in a state of war with Russia. This is not an open war, but a proxy war.”
It comes as Putin deployed a nuclear missile that could destroy Europe and Ukraine.
Tensions between the Kremlin and the West have been rising once again, as Moscow continues its deadly war against Ukraine. US President Donald Trump has given Putin until the end of next week to call for a ceasefire, otherwise major packages of sanctions will be slapped onto Russia’s already-crippled economy.
But a major escalation was seen on Friday (August 1) when Trump ordered for submarines to be taken to their “relevant positions” in response to major comments from former Russian president Dmitry Medvedev. Now, Putin has upped the ante as he deployed nuclear missiles to Russia’s neighbour and close ally, Belarus.
On Friday, Putin announced that Moscow had begun the production of its newest set of Oreshnik hypersonic missiles to use against Ukraine in its ongoing war. The missiles will then be deployed to Belarus, which shares its southern border with Ukraine itself.
Speaking to journalists, Putin – together with Belarusian dictator Alexander Lukashenko – reaffirmed the plans for the missiles to be moved to Belarusian territory, in a huge blow for Kyiv. Putin added: “Preparatory work is ongoing, and most likely we will be done with it before the year’s end.”
Oreshnik missiles have already been used in strikes on Ukrainian targets, including a weapons factory in Dnipro in central Ukraine last November, Euronews reported. The factory had been key to Ukraine’s ability to produce weapons, as it had been established whilst Ukraine was still a member of the Soviet Union.
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