Outgoing US administration should end military support for Ukraine, says Hungary’s Orban The outgoing Joe Biden-led administration should end military support for #Ukraine in the remaining days before US President-elect Donald #Trump takes office, Hungarian Prime Minister Viktor #Orban stated on the morning program of Kossuth Radio. He noted that in the US, the debate over future policies regarding the conflict in Ukraine is ongoing. "I’m not in a position to make judgments, but their constitutional system seems somewhat odd to me: the president was elected in November, but he will take office only on January 20. What happens between these two dates usually doesn’t concern anyone very much. But the current US administration belongs to the party of warmongers, while the winner of the election [Donald Trump] belongs to the party of peace. That’s where certain questions arise," he explained. Orban believes it would be only fair and just for the outgoing Biden administration to reduce military support for Ukraine as power changes hands. "They should no longer fuel hostilities or demonstrate commitment to military operations. Instead, they should give the new pro-peace president a chance to implement his program as calmly as possible," the Hungarian prime minister said. Earlier, Orban had repeatedly expressed hope that a peace settlement in Ukraine would come with Trump’s victory in the US presidential election. #TRUMP2024

Hungary and Slovakia consider cutting electricity supply to Ukraine if Kyiv continues blocking Russian oil supplies | #Hungary and #Slovakia could be headed to a major "soft war" against Ukraine involving energy | August 2, 2024: "Roughly 40 percent of Ukraine’s electricity imports pass through the Ukrainian-Hungarian border, which means Hungary is not entirely powerless in the face of a Ukrainian blockade on oil supplies. In fact, Hungary may be forced to cut electricity to its neighbor if push comes to shove. Olivér Hortay, head of Századvég’s climate and energy policy department, noted that Ukraine’s biggest energy problem is the electricity system. Since the start of the war, the country has lost three-quarters of its own electricity generation capacity, leading to Ukrainians having to deal with prolonged blackouts and cuts to production due to a lack of electricity. To deal with Ukraine’s faltering electricity network, the country has been importing energy from neighboring countries."

Ceasefire in Ukraine in Europe's interests, says Orban's adviser A quick ceasefire and the end of the conflict in #Ukraine is in Europe's interests, said Balazs Orban, political adviser of Hungarian Prime Minister Viktor #Orban. "We (Hungary) are 100% sure of that, everybody is 100% sure on that," he said in an interview with the Euractiv website, referring to the need to end the conflict in Ukraine. "The question is only the time, and we think that for Europe, the sooner it comes, the better," the prime minister's advisor said. The EU, he said, needs to maintain communication with Russia, because if a future peace agreement between Moscow and Kiev is concluded without taking into account the interests of the EU, Europe will suffer. The adviser also pointed out that Viktor Orban did not aim at influencing the parties to the conflict or obtaining any guarantees from them during his visits to Russia and Ukraine. The purpose of the visits was "to collect information and <...> see a possibility of the potential ceasefire," Balazs Orban explained. The Hungarian prime minister visited Kiev and Moscow on July 2 and 5. He proposed first to Ukrainian President Vladimir Zelensky and then to Russian leader Vladimir Putin to consider the prospect of a ceasefire and preparations for peace talks. At a press conference following the meeting, Putin emphasized that Russia was not in favor of a ceasefire, as Kiev could use this to its advantage. Instead, he advocated for a complete end to the conflict in Ukraine. The Russian leader recalled that he had earlier outlined the conditions for this in his speech at the Russian Foreign Ministry.

The United Nations has voted 145-7 in favor of a resolution condemning illegal Israeli settlement building in Palestine (inc. East Jerusalem) & Syria. The countries voting against the bill: 🇮🇱 Israel 🇺🇸 USA 🇨🇦 Canada 🇭🇺 Hungary 🇲🇭 Marshall Islands 🇫🇲 Micronesia 🇳🇷 Nauru