Europe Is Already Indirectly at War With Russia, Orban Says

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Europe is indirectly at war with Russia because of its military support for Ukraine, Hungarian Prime Minister Viktor Orban said Saturday in a speech addressing his refusal to send arms to Kyiv.

“Europe is getting immersed in war, in reality they’re already indirectly at war with Russia,” Orban said in his annual state of the nation speech, predicting fighting in Ukraine may continue for years.

Orban, who is the European Union leader with the closest ties to Russian President Vladimir Putin, reiterated that Hungary won’t supply weapons to its eastern neighbor and that Budapest doesn’t view Moscow as a security threat.

The five-term leader of Hungary, which is an EU and North Atlantic Treaty Organization member, said the military bloc needs to remain a defense alliance rather than to be used to “collectively attack a third country.”

At the same time, he said NATO membership was “existential” for Hungary and that a sovereign Ukraine between Hungary and Russia was in his country’s interest.

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