Orban on the Wagner rebellion: This event does not matter

Hungarian Prime Minister Viktor Orban said that he considers the mutiny of the private military company Wagner in Russia to be an unimportant event.

He said this in an interview with the German newspaper Bild.

"I don't see any great significance in this event," Orban said, answering a question about his thoughts on the march of Yevhen Prigozhin's Wagner to Moscow.

He noted that the Hungarian intelligence services had information about what was happening in Russia, and according to them, "it is not important."

Orban made it clear that he does not consider President Putin to be weakened after the events of this weekend.

"If this could happen, it is a clear sign of weakness. But if it happened in 24 hours, it is a sign of strength... You know that Putin is the president of Russia. So if someone suggests that he might fail or be replaced, they do not understand the Russian people and the Russian government," Orban said.

He added that everything in Russia does not function the same way as in European countries. According to the Hungarian prime minister, Putin will remain president in 2024.

"Russia does not work like we do. The structures in Russia are very stable. They are based on the army, intelligence services, and police, so it is a different country, it is a military-oriented country," the Hungarian prime minister said.

In Orban's opinion, Prigozhin's march on Moscow will not have an impact on the situation on the battlefield in Ukraine.

"I think it's over, but the war continues. This is not an event that will lead us to peace, because I always look at this war from the perspective of peace, because I think the most important thing is to achieve a ceasefire and somehow agree on peace. This event plays no role in that," Orban said.

Author - Olena Madiak, 27/06/2023