Orban: Ukraine crisis to weaken EU, profit Russia, China, US oil firms
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Hungarian Prime Minister Viktor Orban says that the western sanctions were unsuccessful in destabilizing Russia and dealt a substantial blow to Europe itself.
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Hungarian leader Viktor Orban at a news conference in Budapest on April 6 (Photo: ATTILA KISBENEDEK/AFP/Getty Images)
While the Ukraine crisis is likely to drive Europe weaker, it will be in the best interest of Russia and China, along with major US oil corporations, Hungarian Prime Minister Viktor Orban told German magazine Tichys Einblick on Thursday.
The prime minister noted that the West cannot find a solution to the conflict by military means, while the sanctions were unsuccessful in destabilizing Russia and dealt a substantial blow to Europe itself. Orban also argued that there is no unanimous international support for the US and Ukraine.
Read: Hungary urges EU to ditch sanctions policy, resort to diplomacy
"A large part of the world emphatically does not get behind [Washington and Kiev], including the Chinese, the Indians, the Brazilians, South Africa, the Arab world, Africa," Orban told the magazine.
However, other energy-independent nations, in particular, will gain from Europe’s weakened standing, he added.
"The Russians benefit. EU imports from Russia have dropped by a quarter, and Gazprom's revenues have doubled. The Chinese benefit; they used to be at the mercy of the Arabs. And, of course, big American corporations benefit," the Hungarian leader said, pointing to soaring revenues of US oil and gas giants ExxonMobil, ConocoPhillips, and Chevron.
Orban warned that the Ukraine conflict outcome may "put a definitive end to Western superiority."
Orban: Europe 'shot itself in the lungs' with sanctions on Russia
