BUDAPEST, November 28. /TASS/. The office of Hungarian Prime Minister Viktor Orban has ruled out his attendance at the celebration of the 80th anniversary of victory in the Great Patriotic War, which will take place in Moscow on May 9, 2025.

When asked by reporters if Orban is considering such a possibility, Gergely Gulyas, minister in charge of the Hungarian Prime Minister's office, said: "I think that this is not being considered."

Gulyas was commenting on the decision of Slovak Prime Minister Robert Fico to go to the Russian capital to celebrate the anniversary of Victory at the invitation of Russian President Vladimir Putin.

When asked to clarify the reasons for the Prime Minister's position, Gulyas replied: "For the Hungarian people, the end of World War II had a different significance than for other countries that participated in it."

During World War II, Hungary supported Nazi Germany and participated in military operations against the countries of the anti-Hitler coalition. Hungarian units fought on the Eastern Front against Soviet troops, and then, during the advance of the Red Army, tried to hold their positions in their country, including Budapest, together with German troops. After the end of World War II, the Hungarian government condemned fascism, but the country honors the memory of its fallen soldiers. Therefore, the interpretation of these tragic events in Hungary is somewhat different from the interpretation in those countries that fell victim to Nazi Germany in the late 1930s.

On November 27, the Slovak Prime Minister announced that he had accepted the invitation of the Russian President to come to Moscow to take part in events dedicated to the 80th anniversary of victory in the Great Patriotic War of 1941-1945. Fico said that he had agreed with Serbian President Aleksandar Vucic to go to the Russian capital together to celebrate the anniversary of the Victory. There were no reports in Moscow or Budapest that Orban might also be invited to these celebrations.