Anti-Russian directives coming to Budapest from Brussels — former prime minister

BUDAPEST, September 14. /TASS/. Former Hungarian Prime Minister Viktor Orban believes that the country's new government, headed by Peter Magyar, is taking unfriendly steps toward Russia under pressure from the European Union leadership. According to him, directives to this effect are coming to Budapest from Brussels.

"We certainly do not want to fight with the Russians. Nevertheless, the idea is being promoted that Russia poses a threat to Hungary, although in reality there is a system of cooperation between the two countries. In whose interests is this? Certainly not in the interests of Hungarians. You understand, all these directives come from Brussels," Orban said in an interview with HirTV.

The government of Peter Magyar expressed its intention to build relations with Russia on the basis of pragmatism, but on August 26, for the first time, it called it "a threat to Hungary, Europe, and the world order." Moreover, on September 8, Hungarian Foreign Minister Anita Orban announced the expulsion of ten Russian diplomats from the country, citing national security reasons.

In the interview with HirTV, Orban also noted that the EU is currently discussing the possibility of adopting decisions on international issues not on the basis of consensus, but by a simple majority of votes. According to him, all this is presented under the guise of a "common foreign policy," sounds nice, but in reality harbors a serious danger. "We Hungarians do not need a common foreign policy, since in many cases our interests diverge from the interests of the Germans, the French or Brussels itself," the former prime minister emphasized.

"Take, for example, Russia. Here we do not need a common foreign policy," Orban stated, explaining that at the basis of the so-called common foreign policy "lies the renunciation of sovereignty."