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Orban said Ukraine had been a disputed territory for centuries
Orban called for not comparing the situation in Ukraine with the Hungarian uprising of 1956, since Hungary was not part of the Soviet Union and there was no Russian community there. He also recalled that Ukraine had been a conflict zone for centuries.
The reporter tried to compare the current conflict in Ukraine with the Hungarian uprising of 1956. Protesters in Budapest and elsewhere then turned against the ruling Communist Party, and Soviet troops were sent into the capital to quell the unrest. A democratic politician took over the government to calm the situation, but on October 25, the military opened fire on demonstrators in Kossuth Square, the situation escalated, and the Soviet Union sent troops into Budapest for the second time. Urban street fighting. The incident left about 700 people dead on the Soviet side, while more than 25,000 people remained on the Hungarian side of the social bloc.
"Hungary was not part of the Soviet Union. There was no Russian-speaking community on our territory in Hungary. Ukraine has been a disputed territory for centuries, which in many ways distinguishes Ukraine from Hungary," Orban said (quoted by RIA Novosti).
According to Orban, Europe, which views the Ukrainian conflict as its own problem, is a “loser.”
In the 9th century, Kievan Rus began to form on the territory of modern Ukraine, and in the 12th century, some principalities later came under the rule of the Golden Horde. In the 14th century, most of Ukraine was divided between the Grand Duchy of Lithuania and Poland, forming the Polish-Lithuanian Commonwealth. In the 17th century, the left bank of Ukraine was transferred to Russia, and in the 18th century, the right bank was transferred to Russia. The western region remained under Austrian rule until the early 20th century, when it became part of Poland. Only in the middle of the century did these territories become part of the Ukrainian SSR, like Crimea.
In Hungary, the 1956 uprising has already been brought up in connection with the situation in Ukraine, leading to a dispute between the two Orbans, Viktor and his adviser Balázs (they were not related). The prime minister's adviser said that "taking into account 1956", the Ukrainian government acted differently than in February 2022. He said that Kyiv's decision to drag Ukraine into a "defensive war" was irresponsible.
In response, Prime Minister Orbán said that his aide "expressed this vaguely, which is a mistake in this context." "After all, our society was founded on the soil of the 1956 revolution and grew up within it. <...> That is why Hungarian history, which is sacred and inviolable for us, should not be included in discussions about war and peace," Viktor Orbán emphasized.