“Ukraine Is Not In NATO, My Job Is To Keep It That Way”, Orbán Tells Press Outside NATO Summit

Authored by Thomas Brooke via Remix News,

Hungarian Prime Minister Viktor Orbán voiced skepticism over proposed NATO plans to raise defense spending to 5 percent of member states’ GDP, calling the target unworkable under existing EU budgetary constraints and warning of economic consequences if Brussels doesn’t radically change its fiscal framework.

“We are able to do it, it is not easy,” Orbán said at the NATO summit in The Hague on Wednesday.

“But the whole calculation of budget regulation of the European Union must be changed. So if we keep the regulations as it is, nobody in the European Union can fulfill 5 percent, whatever they say. We have to recalculate everything in a different method; in that case, we can do it.”

Orbán’s comments reflect his broader concern that NATO is drifting into dangerous territory — both financially and geopolitically. Rather than supporting yet another push toward militarization, the Hungarian leader emphasized that Europe’s real threat is not military in nature but economic.

“The real threat is not security-wise, it is economic and losing our competitiveness in global trade,” he said. “That’s our problem.”

He also reiterated his long-standing opposition to NATO involvement in Ukraine, restating Hungary’s commitment to keeping the alliance out of the war.

“NATO has no business in Ukraine,” Orbán said plainly.

“Ukraine is not a member of NATO, nor is Russia. And my job is to keep it as it is.”

🇭🇺🇺🇦 Orbán: “NATO has no business in Ukraine. Ukraine is not a member of NATO. My job is to keep it as it is.” pic.twitter.com/fkhF5gbl1S

— Remix News & Views (@RMXnews) June 25, 2025

Orbán has repeatedly argued that escalating military aid and deepening Western involvement risk prolonging the war and damaging European interests. His administration has opposed further sanctions on Russia and has long expressed concern over the possibility of NATO and EU membership for Kyiv in the current climate.

On Tuesday, the Hungarian prime minister hit back at thinly veiled criticism of his administration from Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky — an honorary guest at the summit in the Netherlands.

Zelensky suggested that it is “unfair when a single party blocks the Union’s decision,” referencing Hungarian opposition to further negotiations with Kyiv on EU membership.

In response, Orbán wrote on X, “President, with all due respect: the European Union was founded to bring peace and prosperity to its member states. Accepting a country that is at war with Russia would immediately drag the EU into a direct conflict. It is unfair to expect any member state to take this risk.”

In other remarks in The Hague, Orbán further highlighted his alignment with U.S. President Donald Trump, praising what he called Trump’s “common sense” approach to foreign policy and suggesting that a shift in Washington’s leadership is already having a stabilizing effect on global conflicts.

🇭🇺🇺🇸 Hungarian PM Viktor Orbán: “The President of the United States is a man of common sense. We see the wars getting shorter, which is the consequence of his activity.” pic.twitter.com/ZhzTpFJZYL

— Remix News & Views (@RMXnews) June 25, 2025

“The international order is more based on common sense,” Orbán said. “And the president of the United States is a man of common sense, as you have seen, just recently, to manage the conflict between Iran and Israel. So, he is the man of common sense, which means that the new wars are getting shorter and the old wars are running out of fuel, which is the consequence of his activity.”

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