Orbán: What is happening in Slovakia and Serbia is not happening of its own accord, it is induced, it is being instigated

"We are not blind. What is happening in Slovakia and Serbia is not happening of its own accord, it is being induced, it is being instigated. The truth is, I could list similar, less successful attempts at destabilisation in Hungary too", Hungarian Prime Minister Viktor Orbán said at a press conference with Serbian President Aleksandar Vučić on Monday afternoon.

Orbán's statement was a reference to the significant anti-government demonstrations that have been going on in both Slovakia and Serbia in recent weeks, with tens of thousands of people demonstrating against the two countries’ governments.

On Monday, President Tamás Sulyok awarded the Grand Cross of the Hungarian Order of Merit to Serbian president Aleksandar Vučić, who was visiting Budapest. This is the highest Hungarian state decoration a foreign leader can receive. Vučić and Viktor Orbán also held talks, after which they held a joint press conference. Orbán said that Serbia is a key country in the Balkans, and that the stability of the entire region is linked to Serbia's stability. "Serbia is stable when it has strong, determined leadership, and this is why we respect President Aleksandar Vučić for being the champion of stability in the Balkans," he said, adding that there can be no Balkan policy without Serbia.

According to Orbán, it is also clear that there is no Hungarian energy security without Serbia, and no Serbian energy security without Hungary. The Prime Minister said that they have a joint plan to build a new oil pipeline between the two countries. "We are talking about a 300-kilometre-long pipeline, and I am pleased to see that the preliminary work is in full swing," he added.

Orbán then went on to say:

“Everybody knows what kind of attempts have been made in both Serbia and Hungary. How they are trying to put pressure on the country by blocking funds or through the activities of NGOs, but we have achieved great results even with such a headwind.”

At the same time, the Prime Minister pointed out that there is now a change in the wind in world politics. He said they used to be up against headwinds, but now there’s a tailwind. "I see us breaking new records this year. In terms of trade, investment and also in terms of developments along our borders," he said.

According to Orbán, Serbia has been successful in resisting and thus hasn’t slid into the Russian-Ukrainian war, which he hopes will end soon. “What I appreciate in particular and consider a great achievement is that 40 percent of Serbia's foreign trade is not with the European Union. This shows that Serbia is implementing a successful connectivity strategy. They have been able to build significant economic ties in all directions, and they have a much more balanced system than ours, but we see that as an example.”

Orbán also touched briefly on current events in global politics. He said that for us it is all about the war between Russia and Ukraine, because it is right next to us, but if one looks at the world map and takes a step back, one can see that the world is a much bigger place. "There are challenges in the world that are even bigger than the war between Russia and Ukraine. And when world powers negotiate with each other, it's not just our problems that are on the table, but also all the other problems of the world.

I am convinced that the Russian-Ukrainian war will not be concluded by a negotiation on the Russian-Ukrainian war.

That will also happen, but before it does, the great powers of the world will negotiate with each other about the future. About things like energy prices, about technology, about trade. These are the big issues on which they are currently reshaping the world. That's what's happening now. So those of us here who are bogged down with the war between Russia and Ukraine need to know that those who are negotiating in Saudi Arabia will be negotiating on many other issues that are bigger than that," the Prime Minister said.

At the end of the press conference, Orbán returned to the subject of sovereignty and said: “Destabilisation is bad for everyone. If the people who live here are not the ones who decide how things are going to be, if it is not the governments they have elected that decide what is going to happen, but someone from the outside wants to tell us what to do, nothing good has ever come of that. This is why we must stand up for our sovereignty.”

As for the relationship between Serbia and Hungary, the Prime Minister invoked a scene from Gladiator. "There is a scene in the arena when the protagonist tells the other gladiators standing next to him that they should stick together, regardless of what comes out of that door! This is my main advice for Serbian-Hungarian cooperation", Viktor Orbán said, concluding the press conference.

The Serbian president's visit has coincided with a wave of protests throughout his country, with regular demonstrations against the country's leadership ever since a section of the canopy at the entrance to the recently renovated Novi Sad railway station collapsed on 1 November, killing 15 people. The protests have led to the resignation of the Prime Minister and the local mayor. A few weeks ago, Vučić said that he was open to appointing a new cabinet and even to holding elections.