Hungarian News

Strategic Peace in the Grave

• March 5, 2022
• István
• 33 Comments

The Ukraine ambassador in Budapest Ljubov Nepop was guest of think tank Political Capital and reacted on Orbán’s call for strategic peace, as he said in his “interview” on state TV last Sunday ►EN, which I covered as well. Nepop asked: “are overhead cuts more important than human lives?” 444 reported as 1st about the conference held behind closed doors ►HU. “You will be next, Putin will not stop,” she continued. “The West does a lot, but not enough. The Russians could be stopped, but now people are stopping tanks in Ukraine without weapons. In the occupied cities, our anthem is sung in the squares. We need more help! …. Your strategic peace will only happen in the grave”

Further she is quoted with a clear demand how Hungarians should act on the upcoming national holiday on March 15th ►HU: “The anniversary of the 1848 revolution is coming and you are talking about overhead cuts? Aren’t you ashamed of yourself? Isn’t human life important? Do those for whom overhead cuts are more important than freedom have the right to celebrate March 15th? Please, only those who have the courage to stand up for freedom should take to the streets this year to celebrate!”

But Nepop thanked the Hungarian government and society for helping refugees, as well as for supporting EU sanctions. The courageous lady added that if Hungary does not send weapons, other equipment would be very necessary for survival as well: Generators, sleeping bags, for example. “It is better for the Hungarians if the Ukrainians are fighting with those weapons now, as if they will have to defend their own borders with them,” clearly pointing again to Orbán’s claim that Hungary can’t send weapons, even if he would want so, because we haven’t enough ourselves. The same day the Hungarian foreign minister, proud recipient of the Russian friendship medal, told the world ►HU: “The Hungarian army can defend Hungary, it does not need additional forces.”

Regarding the leaked statements of ambassador Nepop Népszava took the opportunity to send her a couple of questions ►HU, these are her answers:

Are you satisfied with the support you received from Hungary?

The occupiers shoot down the capital, Kiev, the country’s cultural and university centre, Kharkiv, and many other settlements with heavy weapons. Their cynicism knows no borders, their rockets destroy administrative buildings and residential houses, and even hospitals and orphanages. Their main targets are the big cities with a large Russian-speaking population. So much about Moscow’s loss of eyesight, claiming that it wants to protect them…. This open aggression is condemned by the whole world. At the invitation of President Volodymyr Zelensky, the international anti-war coalition was formed, of which Hungary is a member. So today we are allies in this war. We are grateful to the Hungarian government for supporting sanctions against Russia, the EU’s decision to help Ukraine with weapons from European Peace Facility resources, and for offering care for wounded soldiers and assistance to Ukrainians fleeing the war. We are grateful to all Hungarian citizens and members of the Hungarian minority living in Ukraine, who in demonstrations are demanding an end to the war.

The message of the leaders of the Hungarian government has been so far that Hungary must stay out of this conflict, and they emphasised that calm decisions are needed. Do you agree with them?

Today, everyone has the opportunity to help stopping Putin…. Anyone who does not do so will be responsible for Putin’s atrocities. Is what Hungary and our other partners are doing enough? No…. We now need more weapons and for our allies to close the airspace of Ukraine, preventing further bombing the peaceful population. We are not asking Hungarian soldiers or soldiers from other NATO member states to come and fight for us …. It is much less expensive today to help Ukraine with weapons and equipment than to wait for the Russians to reach Hungary’s borders. Transcarpathian Hungarians fighting in the Ukrainian armed forces are also part of this struggle. There is a lot of talk about the help that Hungary gives to the Hungarians in Transcarpathia. Today, they are also helping Hungary in the fight against Russian aggression.

Until the outbreak of the war, Viktor Orbán’s government favoured the development of relations with Russia, while blocking Ukraine’s Euro-Atlantic integration efforts.

When Russia invaded Ukraine, it marked a dividing line along which many countries changed their positions. Hungary’s accession to the eight EU countries that supported Ukraine’s EU candidate status is a consistent step by the Hungarian government, for which we are grateful…. As for co-operation with Russia, we believe it is time to “deputinise” the world…. European stores and their customers are abandoning Russian goods…. No International Investment Bank, no Paks 2, gas deals, overhead cuts or Russian vaccines can justify the shameful death of innocent children. These are sins that cannot be left without answer. If we turn a blind eye to inhumanity and barbarism, can we look into the eyes of our own children and being happy with low gas tariffs?

What opportunity do you see for stopping the war? Would your country accept forced neutrality?

The frontline and opportunities for diplomacy are closely linked. The lesser our losses are when bouncing back the Russian attacks, the better our negotiating positions and our chances of peace will be. That is why we also tell our Hungarian partners: Give us weapons and protective equipment so that we can defend ourselves – and you! And that is why we are asking NATO to close the airspace over Ukraine. We do the rest ourselves…. Are we ready to be neutral in exchange for stopping further destruction? The Kremlin mixes the concepts perfectly, but let’s be clear: It is a cynical lie. In 2014, we were neutral. Did that save us? Today, the Kremlin does not want our ‘neutrality’, it wants to “denaziise us, by which us meant to destroy the Ukrainian nation and statehood. Putin hates everything that is Ukrainian because the Ukrainian people are freedom loving, democratic, European, which is contrary to his whole philosophy and values. Suppression, control, fear, obedience – this is what is meant by the demanded neutrality. No Ukrainian will ever agree to that. And when asked to accept neutrality, Hungarians need to ask themselves, whether they agree with Putin’s next demand that NATO’s infrastructure must be restored to pre-1997 levels? Do they agree to restore Russian influence in all post-socialist countries, which means to deprive them of their independence? I think your answer also answers the question of Ukraine’s neutrality.

So far the interview. While we must accept that Ms Nepop is of course speaking on behalf of her country, a country in war with its much larger neighbour, she is analytically very clear and understands the situation in Hungary very much to the point. Just to mention it, she speaks Hungarian, so she is not hindered by a language barrier to understand what it is happening in the country. However, Hungary as all NATO members must be aware of consequences of acting in all cases. A no fly zone is in my personal opinion no option. The declaration of such has no meaning if it is not followed by a military mission. While I am pretty sure that NATO has the means to do so this definitely will be regarded as NATO attack on Russia by Putin. Even more regarding the fact that one of the largest armies in the world is struggling in fighting against a country that is although it is the second largest country in Europe only large in territory, Ukraine is less populous than for example France, UK, Germany, Italy, Spain or Turkey, which all are NATO members. Ukraine is about as populous as Poland is. Putin expected a blitzkrieg and is said to have had an outburst of fury against his generals. If Ukraine resists so much against being liberated by Putin, how little his chances against the largest defence alliance would be? This means he has only his nuclear weapons left to bring the destruction of cities we see in Ukraine over the entire world and onto another level, which would mean a complete destruction of the planet.

But of course the Orbán regime has felt attacked by the ambassador’s words. In Orbán’s “family friendly Hungary” it is a deadly sin to tell that lives of children are more important than the price of gas. An ambassador mustn’t say what she wants for her country, obviously a foreign ambassador in Budapest has to choose between FIDESZ and Unity for Hungary. It was FIDESZ MP Gyula Budai, who was ordered to attack the Ukrainian ambassador:

Ms Ambassador Nepop Ljubov! You are the Ambassador of Ukraine in Budapest, therefore, to put it mildly, the statement you made in the Hungarian press about my country, Hungary, was unworthy of you! …. With your statement, you openly entered the Hungarian election campaign, on the side of the left-wing opposition!

Budai ended his facebook post with calling the ambassador to work for peace in Ukraine instead ►HU. I have no words for such a primitive approach!