Those coming from Ukraine are coming to a friendly place, friends are waiting for them in Hungary, Prime Minister Viktor Orbán declared when he held a border inspection on the Hungarian-Ukrainian border in Beregsurány on Saturday.
At the impromptu press conference, the Prime Minister emphasized that for the time being the front lines are far from Hungary, but we must prepare for the fact that there will be military actions in Transcarpathia as well.
"So, as the line of clashes approaches Hungary, the soldiers and the mayors must be more and more disciplined"
- He told.
He believed that
a stronger presence of mind will be needed next week, because we don't want to get involved in this armed conflict
said the Prime Minister.
In response to a question, Viktor Orbán called it scare news and disinformation that Hungary is the only EU member state that opposes the financial isolation of Russian banks.
"Be prepared that disinformation is common in war (...). At Thursday's EU summit, Hungary made it clear that we support all sanctions that are agreed upon in the EU. We don't block anything," he added.
The Prime Minister assessed the situation at the border as the helpfulness of the local governments and authorities.
Compared to how serious and warlike the situation is, everything is organized and calm. According to his statement
Hungary admits everyone, including those who do not have a travel document and, after proper screening, those arriving from third countries as well.
"In short, the work is going smoothly, which, however, should not make us light-hearted or overly optimistic, since the hard work is still behind us. Let's not forget that there is a war going on here on the other side of the border"
he said.
He went on to emphasize that he can say the best about Hungarians. Based on the report of the mayors, the people living in the region are welcoming and helpful.
"I see that there is a Hungarian-Ukrainian friendship between the people living here, the tangible benefits of which are now being enjoyed by the Ukrainians"
he added.
In response to questions from journalists, he recalled that in the past ten days, several European leaders, in addition to him, the German Chancellor and the French President, made peace initiatives with Russian President Vladimir Putin.
"We did everything humanly possible to avoid war, but all the efforts of the Union proved unsuccessful"
he said.
According to him, we must now focus our efforts on returning from war to peace.
Furthermore, Hungary implements what is on the EU sanctions list, he said. Finally, in response to a journalist's question as to whether Hungary would also take in Ukrainian men fleeing military service, he emphasized that whoever enters Hungary's territory falls under Hungarian jurisdiction, so we will help everyone.
The rule is that all refugees must be helped, Viktor Orbán said at the press conference held at the border station in Beregsurány.
MTI / opening image: MTI/Minister's Press Office/Zoltán Fischer
