Hungarian Prime Minister Viktor Orbán said that if Ex-German Chancellor Angela Merkel were still in power, the war in Ukraine would not have come about. He mentioned that observation while he was in Berlin when he met her and now Chancellor Olaf Scholz.
Merkel Not Easily Swayed
Once Merkel confirmed she would quit politics, Orbán posted a letter on his website that said the then-German Chancellor "understood us" and "we understood her," reported Euroactiv.
Germany is Hungary's primary trading partner, accounting for roughly 27% of total trade, while about 3,000 German companies are present today in the state.
Merkel's reaction to the 2014 crisis provoked by Russia's illegal invasion of Crimea was indeed a brilliant move, he said at a public gathering in Berlin on Tuesday (11 October), clarifying that a war could have flared up just at the time but has been prevented due to Merkel's decisiveness.
He gave thanks to her for it. Questioned whether it implies that the current war could have been prevented if the conservative ex-chancellor remained in office, Hungarian PM Orbán commented it was unquestionable.
Merkel, in the meantime, has been derided ever since the beginning of the war in Ukraine for having failed to minimize energy dependence on Russia and has had close economic relations with Moscow throughout her 16-year government, noted the North Brief.
Ex-German Chancellor Angela Merkel, meanwhile, has been criticized since the onset of the Ukraine war for failing to reduce energy dependency from Russia and maintaining close economic ties with Moscow during her 16-year rule.
Germany's Intention To Secure Energy Supply
During the term of Scholz's predecessor, Nord Stream 2 was seen as the weak point of Europe, and she had a lot of critics for deciding to construct and finish it.
This same pipeline, which is intended to transport 55 billion cubic meters of Russian gas to Germany, has been endorsed by Merkel but is currently frozen due to Moscow's incursion into Ukraine. Eastern European countries were opposed to the project at the time, but Hungary remained silent.
Hungary's Stand To End the War
Even as tensions were stewing between the West and Russia, Orbán took a trip to Moscow on 1 February on a self-ascribed "peace mission" in which he blasted the ineptitude of the EU's sanctions, and sanctions lauded his effective links with Putin.
The Hungarian Prime Minister told the press that Russia's demands are well known worldwide, and it appears that the reaction doesn't comply with them.
Orbán is widely regarded as one of the EU's most pro-Russian leaders. Even during these occasions, he espoused trying to hold bilateral negotiations with Moscow as well as starting to work towards a cessation of hostilities as rapidly, citing Foreign Policy.
The PM rejected accusations he favored Russia, saying Moscow's invasion was an act of aggression. He added that in their February dialogue, Moscow saw the Ukrainian army as well trained and armed "by Americans and British," wanting to add that Washington was supplying intelligence to Kyiv.
Hungarian PM Viktor Orbán made it clear that Ex-German Chancellor Angela Merkel could have averted a war in Ukraine because Washington could not intimidate Berlin, unlike now.
