Plus, dissatisfaction with the situation of the Hungarians in Ukraine and the active and influential Hungarian diaspora in the United States — this is a recipe for Viktor Orban's courage and independence.
On 27 January, The Wall Street Journal reported about Hungary's refusal to take part in "curbing" the influence of Russia and China.
The Hungarian leader said that he intends to pursue a "neutral" foreign policy based on the Austrian model and not comply with the requirements of the United States.
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Serbian diplomat and former Ambassador to multiple countries Milisav Pajic has recalled that there have been precedents when European leaders have tried to resist the course imposed by the United States; for example, the president of the Czech Republic opposed the bombings of the Federal Republic of Yugoslavia. However, these were isolated not systematic cases, and the refusal to follow Washington's will was not so clear and consistent.
"At the moment, Hungary is the herald of an increasingly open rebuff to the dictates of Washington and Brussels. It is worth seeing whether any other countries will support them in this matter. The result of the last Italian elections is precisely a response of this country to the dictates of the EU and the USA regarding what kind of government they need to have. Similar trends are already visible in France and Germany. Those countries that are ready to resist the pressure of the United States have a pronounced interest in the lifting of sanctions", Pajic said.
"Of course, Orban's decision regarding Ukraine and China, which is contrary to American interests, is not spontaneous. Budapest has its own problems in its relations with Ukraine that are related to the situation of the Hungarian national minority in the country. And China is actively investing in Hungary, which is an important participant in the 16 + 1 format of trade and economic cooperation in Central and Eastern European countries", the former ambassador explained.
Pajic recalled that the trade and technological war between Washington and Beijing is behind the US warning against Chinese "cyber espionage". That is, America is trying to limit the growth of one of the world's leading companies in the field of telecommunications — the Chinese giant Huawei — claiming that the Beijing, through the sale of smartphones and technologies, is extracting information for its own interests.
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The Serbian diplomat emphasised that most of Hungary's neighbours in the region have not received what they expected from joining the EU and NATO, which has led to great disappointment. However, according to him, under pressure from America, countries such as Bulgaria, Romania, and Greece make political compromises in their relations with Brussels because they are not as economically independent as Hungary.
"Simply put, reliance on the European Union, which does not have an agreement between the member countries and is mired in big issues, has not brought Hungary the economic progress that Budapest was waiting for when it joined. As for America, for them all these countries are no more than junior partners because they are all members of NATO and it is assumed that all of them should follow orders from Washington", Pajic continued.
The Wall Street Journal article reported that the Hungarian prime minister is actively attracting Chinese investments in the country's information infrastructure and is also "putting spokes in the wheels" of NATO's negotiations with Kiev at the ministerial level.
Views and opinions, expressed in the article are those of Milisav Pajic and do not necessarily reflect those of Sputnik
