BUDAPEST, July 25. /TASS/. Ukraine has been designated the role of a buffer state and will not become a member of the European Union in the foreseeable future, as this would draw the West into a war with Russia, Hungarian Prime Minister Viktor Orban stated during an appearance on the morning program of Kossuth Radio.
He noted that EU leaders are trying to admit Kiev into the bloc as quickly as possible, but Budapest considers this unacceptable. "If we agree to Ukraine's accession, we will become a battlefield. Geographically, the war will spill over into the neighboring region, which is unacceptable. Many young Hungarians will die. This is not a tactical but an existential question," Orban said.
"Ukraine is a buffer state," he stated, adding that Hungary itself would not wish to play such a role in geopolitics. "We do not want to accept such a fate. We understand how it feels because we were on the western periphery of the Soviet Union, and we do not want to return to that position," Orban explained.
He noted that Budapest proposes, instead of admitting Ukraine to the EU, a strategic partnership agreement to be signed with Kiev, one that would not risk direct military conflict between the West and Russia.
Earlier, the Hungarian government repeatedly stated that Ukraine joining the European Union would drag the bloc into an armed conflict against Russia, which would mark the beginning of a global war.