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Russia does not threaten NATO, but there should be buffer zone in Ukraine — Orban

The Hungarian prime minister said that it would be ideal for Ukraine to create a buffer zone with security guarantees

Hungarian Prime Minister Viktor Orban AP Photo/Denes Erdos

Hungarian Prime Minister Viktor Orban

© AP Photo/Denes Erdos

BUDAPEST, March 29. /TASS/. NATO countries are not threatened by an attack from Russia, but it will be better if a buffer zone in Ukraine remains between them, Hungarian Prime Minister Viktor Orban has said in a conversation with former Austrian Chancellor Wolfgang Schuessel (in office from 2000 to 2007), published in the new English-language European Voices magazine and retold in the Hungarian media.

There is no risk of a Russian attack on a NATO member country, Orban said. Speaking about Ukraine, he also noted that Moscow would never agree to that country’s admission to NATO because this would bring the alliance closer to Russia's borders.

The Hungarian prime minister suggested taking a look at the political map and said that it would be ideal for Ukraine, as Russia's near neighbor, to create a buffer zone with security guarantees, because if that did not happen, Ukrainians could lose their country altogether.

Schuessel disagreed, arguing that the West should immediately start negotiations with Ukraine on its admission not only to the European Union but also to NATO.

Tags

Ukraine crisis Hungary

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