BUDAPEST, December 24. /TASS/. The armed conflict in Ukraine will end in 2025, Hungarian Prime Minister Viktor Orban said in an interview with the Magyar Nemzet newspaper.

"The war [in Ukraine] will end in 2025. It will end either with a peace agreement or with the collapse of one of the belligerents," he forecasted.

He recalled that "America and Europe have spent about 300 billion euros on the war [in Ukraine]."

"With this money, we could have achieved a fast rise in the standard of living in all of Europe. We could have raised the entire Balkans to the level of European development. We could have curbed migration and built a completely new European defense system. But this money was wasted," Orban lamented.

In his opinion, the hostilities in Ukraine have only led to death and destruction.

"Millions have left Ukraine, whose infrastructure, transportation, and energy systems have been ruined. The country will be unable to support itself economically in the foreseeable future," Orban said.

Previously, the Hungarian government repeatedly stated that the Ukrainian conflict could not be resolved on the battlefield. The sole place for making peace was the negotiating table. Now Orban has confirmed that he pins hopes of achieving this goal on the upcoming inauguration of US President-elect Donald Trump, who had promised to address the situation in Ukraine. Orban believes that with Trump's return to the White House, "the world will be a safer place."