Hungarian PM Orban: NATO is Reluctant to Send Troops, Ukraine Will Not Win on the Battlefield

JAKARTA - Ukraine will not be able to win in a conflict with Russia, Hungarian Prime Minister Viktor Orban said on Tuesday, noting NATO's (North Atlantic Treaty Organization) reluctance to deploy allied forces to Ukraine, also urging that a peace settlement can be reached as soon as possible.

This was conveyed by PM Orban in a public debate at the Qatar Economic Forum in Doha on Tuesday.

"If you look at how things are on the ground, the numbers, the general situation and the fact that NATO is reluctant to send troops (to Ukraine), you will clearly see that Ukraine will not be able to achieve victory on the battlefield," he said, quoted from TASS on May 24.

His comments appeared to be in response to a question as to whether he really thought that Ukraine had no chance of success.

When asked about the conflict in Ukraine, the Hungarian prime minister said Budapest had supported a peaceful solution from the start of the conflict and had consistently called for an immediate ceasefire.

"We have to think about how to save people's lives. This is my position," said PM Orban.

On the same occasion, PM Orban said that relations between his country and Sweden must improve, before the Nordic country officially becomes a member of NATO.

Sweden and Finland are known to have applied for NATO membership last year, in line with Russia's invasion of Ukraine. Finland's accession has been approved, but not Sweden's, as its accession has been held up by Turkey and Hungary, with Budapest citing complaints over Sweden's criticism of PM Orban's record on democracy and the rule of law.

"The political relationship between Hungary and Sweden is very wrong. We don't want to import conflict into NATO," Orban said, citing Reuters.

There is no date yet for when Hungary's Parliament will vote on Sweden's bid for entry, which must be ratified by all 30 existing members. Meanwhile, NATO will hold a summit meeting in July.