From America to Russia, the international press quotes Prime Minister Viktor Orbán's thoughts at the Peace March on Saturday.

Most international reports objectively reflect the thoughts of the Hungarian Prime Minister and mention tens of thousands of crowds from America to Russia, Magyar Nemzet . The American press also covered Hungary.

Tens of thousands of people gathered in the Hungarian capital on Saturday to demonstrate their strength in support of Prime Minister Viktor Orbán, a week before European Parliament elections, which the prime minister called an existential turning point between European peace and world war.

- writes the Voice of America with reference to AP News. The demonstration, called a peace march by the organizers, brought Orbán's supporters from all over Hungary and neighboring countries, who marched along the Danube from the city's iconic Chain Bridge to Margaret Island, waving flags and holding anti-war signs.

"Orbán, who has been in power for 14 years and became the longest-serving leader of the European Union, focused his campaign on the war in Ukraine in the June 9 vote, portraying his domestic and international opponents as warmongers who want to draw Hungary directly into the conflict. "Critics say his calls for an immediate ceasefire in Ukraine would allow Russia to keep the territories it has occupied and further embolden the country," the news site said.

Breitbart, which is also American, recalled in its article: "Hungarian Prime Minister Viktor Orbán held a peace demonstration on Saturday at the head of thousands of citizens in downtown Budapest, demanding an end to the war in Ukraine and an end to the escalation between the West and Russia. In the demonstration, which took place less than a week before 450 million EU citizens go to the polls to elect the next European Parliament, thousands marched from the Chain Bridge to Margitsziget in the middle of the Danube".

However, the Reuters news agency somewhat misinterpreted the purpose of the peace march. As they wrote, "Tens of thousands of Hungarians marched in downtown Budapest on Saturday to support the nationalist Prime Minister Viktor Orbán, who has an unexpected challenger before next week's European Parliament elections in the person of a political newcomer," they write, referring to Péter Magyar.

"Viktor Orbán has long been at odds with EU member states on a range of issues, including rejecting arms shipments to Ukraine and maintaining economic ties with Moscow after Russian forces invade Ukraine in 2022," Reuters reported.

The peace march was also given a worthy place in the Russian press.

Hungary wants to prevent Europe from going to war with Russia

- the Russian news agency TASS reported on the peace march with this title, quoting the Prime Minister's pro-peace stance.

The neighboring countries also reported prominently on Viktor Orbán's speech and the large number of participants in the 10th peace march.

Viktor Orbán: Fico almost gave his life for peace

Új só in the highlands writes about the peace march with the title "Viktor Orbán first asked for God's blessing on the Transcarpathian Hungarians, who are vulnerable waiting for the end of the war. The day when your fate will turn for the better is not far off," he said. He then sent his greetings to Robert Fico, the pro-peace Prime Minister of Slovakia.

He was shot because he was on the side of peace, he almost gave his life for peace. But he was carved from hard wood, not the type to let himself be eliminated

- highlighted the paper in the coverage. "The Hungarian Prime Minister believes that peace cannot be won with weapons, that there is no armed solution to the war in Ukraine," emphasized Új szó.

The Romanian newspapers also covered Saturday's peace march in a considerable amount, each news television or portal reported on the event in a prominent place, among the leading news. Most of the news reports about the march and Prime Minister Viktor Orbán's speech treated the event objectively.

The media, which have regularly demonized the Hungarian Prime Minister and mentioned a pro-Russian policy in connection with Hungary's diplomacy, this time also reported on the peace process with negative connotations. The Digi 24 news television, for example, put the word peace in quotation marks in the title of its coverage, and the G4 Media portal repeatedly described Viktor Orbán as Moscow's Trojan horse.

In the social media this time too, there were a large majority of comments agreeing with the Hungarian Prime Minister.

Several news reports highlighted Viktor Orbán's statement that Hungarians do not want to give their blood for Ukraine. Not by chance, as the issue of the introduction of compulsory military service has been on the agenda again in Romania in recent weeks.

The review was compiled by: Mandiner

Front page photo: In the photo taken with a drone, the participants of the Peace March of the Civil Solidarity Forum - Civil Solidarity Non-profit Foundation (CÖF-CÖKA) are marching on Margit Bridge on June 1, 2024.
MTI/Zsolt Czeglédi