According to Russian President Vladimir Putin, political forces based on national interest and orientation are gaining increasing ground in Europe, including in France and Germany. He added that under the leadership of Viktor Orbán, Hungary has long represented such a position. ‘If these forces in Europe continue to grow stronger, then Europe will be reborn,’ he declared on Thursday in Sochi at the annual meeting of the Valdai International Discussion Club.
In response to a question, Putin stated that he does not follow Hungarian domestic politics, but he believes the majority of Hungarians want to remain Hungarian and, therefore, they will support Orbán. ‘If they do not want to remain Hungarian, then let them support Ursula von der Leyen—but then they will become Ursula von der Leyens,’ he remarked.
The Russian president also sharply criticized the European Union’s migration policy, which, in his view, is ‘eating away at the community from within,’ while the EU merely ‘tries to plaster over the cracks running across its building.’
‘Majority of Hungarians want to remain Hungarian’
Speaking about the war, Putin declared that the Russian army is ‘confidently advancing along the entire line of contact,’ maintaining strategic initiative everywhere. He said that the construction of the planned security zone along the border is proceeding on schedule, and that the capture of Vovchansk is only a matter of time.
He claimed that Russian forces had entered, among other places, Krasnoarmiisk (Ukrainian: Pokrovsk), Kostiantynivka, and Siversk, and had brought two-thirds of Kupiansk under their control. According to Putin, Ukrainian armed forces suffered losses amounting to 44,700 personnel in September, while the number of deserters could be as high as 150,000. He argued that due to such severe losses, Kyiv should consider beginning negotiations.
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