Concerning his peace mission, Prime Minister Viktor Orbán said von der Leyen and European liberals were „naive people”, so they could not be accused of war profiteering. „I’m not accusing either von der Leyen or the pro-war European leaders of being in the back pocket of George Soros-type dollar speculators,” he said. „It’s more that they think they can establish peace by getting the warring sides to see reason … and they expect a peace mission to get the warring sides to stop firing at each other the next day.” Orbán said this was a „misunderstanding” as demonstrated by the strike on a children’s hospital in Kyiv. He said a peace mission was necessary because if there wasn’t one, the war would keep escalating and those living in the warzone would suffer increasingly severe losses. The prime minister noted that he had spoken with both sides and had prepared a report on his talks which said that the sides did not want peace.
Orbán said neither side would see on their own that peace was better than war because they believed that they could win and continuing the war was advantageous to them. „War is a question of strength, and if the two sides don’t want peace then we must ask whether the major global power centres are willing to take action in the interest of peace,” he said. Orbán said these three power centres were China, the United States and the EU. „If these three power centres speak the same language and reach an agreement with each other on the need for peace, then we can get the warring sides to sit down and agree on a ceasefire,” Orbán said. He said China was pro-peace and the US would be as well „once President Trump comes [into office]”, with the EU being the last remaining power centre needed to get the warring parties to the negotiating table.
Orbán said the essence of the peace mission was resilience. „I’m talking to someone every day about some kind of possibility, detail and new initiatives,” he said. He added that he always informed the public about his talks afterwards because „the peace mission has a lot of opponents, so if the next step is known ahead of time, many will be making efforts to make sure it doesn’t happen”. He said those in Europe had „dug themselves deep into the trenches”, and it was „hard to climb out of there” and pursue a policy of peace. He added, however, that he believed there would be a shift in Europe as well that would come on the day of the US presidential election at the latest, „but it would be better if this wasn’t a turnaround made in panic but rather a well-thought-out process”.
Concerning the assassination attempt against former US President Donald Trump, Orbán said the number of „spectacular assassination attempts that grab the world’s attention is rising, and all of them are being committed against anti-war pro-peace politicians”. He said the „pro-war forces” were „so tense … and organised” that they were trying to eliminate „pro-peace forces”.
He noted that he had met Trump two days before the assassination attempt, with their talks lasting over two hours. The Republican presidential nominee, he added, „is in good shape and ready to fight”, and „this was probably clear in the way he survived the assassination attempt”. „Thank God he didn’t let himself get killed,” Orbán said, adding he hoped this meant that God had plans for the former president. „And what else could God’s plan be in this time of war than for someone to finally bring peace?” Orbán said he and Trump had also spoken about economic issues, and Trump’s programme contained points he would „happily” adopt to Hungary as early as next year. He said Trump’s proposal to make tips tax-exempt was „remarkable”, adding he saw no reason to tax tips in Hungary, either. Hungary „is constantly getting ideas” from Trump’s economic programme, which were all subject of the discussion between them, he said.
As regards a child abuse incident caught on camera at an adventure park in Szolnok, in central Hungary, Orbán said the case was „unacceptable, unbearable and cries for consequences”. Referring to a police investigation of a report filed by park personnel who said an adult accompanying a group of children to the park had kicked one of the children, Orbán said the organisers of summer camps were responsible for the children parents placed into their care. „They have pledged to take care of them and to make sure they spend their time meaningfully,” he added. „It is the government’s job to say that those who can’t live up to that responsibility — and they clearly couldn’t in this case — should not be allowed to organise camps … that must be enforced,” he said. Summer camps cannot have adults abusing children, he said.