The EU and NATO appear to be preparing for war, Hungarian Foreign Minister Peter Szijjarto said on Monday, referring to the posture of the two blocs on the Ukraine conflict.
Much of the meeting of EU foreign and defense ministers in Luxembourg was devoted to sending more ammunition and weapons to Ukraine, Szijjarto noted.
“Brussels is reacting to the increasingly deteriorating situation for Ukraine at the front by preparing for a world war,” he told Hungarian TV at a press conference afterward.
According to Szijjarto, many leaders of NATO member states suffer from a sort of “war psychosis,” feeling as if they are already at war with Russia. He described the tone at the ministerial meeting as that of an army headquarters, where for hours “almost everyone was talking about how many units of what weapons and according to what schedule they are ready to supply to Ukraine” from stockpiles that are practically empty.
“The question is why, if the strategy didn’t work before, should it work now?” Szijjarto said at the press conference, questioning the policy of arming Kiev. “We think that the supply of weapons only leads to a prolongation of the conflict and an increase in the risk of world war.”
Hungary believes that the worsening situation on the battlefield should motivate Ukraine to seek peace, whose terms would need to be discussed by both sides to make any sense. Kiev has recently tried to organize a “peace conference” in Switzerland, but without Russian participation.
Szijjarto noted that Hungary has no intention of participating in EU or NATO efforts to coordinate sending more military assistance to Ukraine, though Budapest will face strong pressure from Brussels to do so.
He also said that every peace-loving person in Europe is waiting for the US presidential elections in November and the victory of Donald Trump. The former president and presumptive Republican nominee has blamed the current US administration for fueling the Ukraine conflict and claimed he would stop it within days if elected.
Hungarian Prime Minister Viktor Orban has openly endorsed Trump’s presidential bid. Meanwhile, Russian President Vladimir Putin has said that keeping Joe Biden in the White House would be the best outcome for Moscow’s interests.