Hungary says West in favor of Russia-Ukraine war

By Talha Ozturk

BELGRADE, Serbia (AA) - The West is in favor of the Russia-Ukraine war and Hungary is in favor of peace, said Hungarian Prime Minister Viktor Orban on Monday.

Orban's remarks came during his address in the National Assembly.

"Today, the West favors war and Hungary favors peace. We demand an immediate cease-fire and peace talks instead of continuing and deepening the war," said Orban.

He said that the Russia-Ukraine war will prolong because the US and the European Union support Ukraine with weapons and materials, while Russia's reserves are unlimited in terms of both people and weapons.

Orban also criticized the sanctions imposed on Russia and claimed that if the sanctions were lifted, energy prices would fall by half, and thus inflation would decrease by half.

According to Orban, the sanctions did not harm Russia, on the contrary, European citizens were adversely affected and Russia has earned $158 billion from energy exports since the beginning of the war, due to rising energy prices.

With the Russia-Ukraine war now in its seventh month, Moscow last week announced the mobilization of a reported 300,000 men aged 18-50 after a series of setbacks.

Since Friday, the self-declared republics of Luhansk and Donetsk in eastern Ukraine, along with Russian-controlled parts of the Zaporizhzhia and Kherson areas, have been holding referendums on joining Russia.