Hungary is right in seeking peace

At no point in the past decades has Europe's safety been more threatened. On 9 September, Russian drones flew into Polish airspace.

A fewer days later, Romanian fighters were besides sent to observe the Russian unmanned kamikaze aircraft that flew into the country's airspace. In the case of Poland, fighters had to be picked up to intercept them. The answer to Warsaw was to mention to Article 4 of the NATO Treaty, calling for consultations due to the danger. specified moves clearly show how uncertain the situation of Europe has become: a continent which has been sleepwalking recklessly since 2022 towards military escalation, is now about a hairline from escalation with the major atomic power in the world. The road ahead is clear. Either Europe will rediscover the logic of diplomacy, as Hungary is stubborn and alone, or it will condemn itself to disaster. And yet, among all the large splendor in Brussels, only Budapest seems inclined to express this most basic truth.

Since the beginning of this war, Hungary has followed a course which Brussels has condemned as treason, but which past will justice as prudence. The country was ridiculed, slandered and isolated. However, his argument never wavered: Russia is not Nazi Germany is simply a global conquest, but a large power acting out of fear, pride and hurt business. You can't crush that power. Let's think about what a real match would mean. If a Russian drone hit a Polish village, killing a civilian population, could Warsaw refrain from retaliation? Could Moscow not respond in the event of retaliation? And if Russia reacted, could NATO truly refrain from referring to Article 5? At this point, conflict ceases to be a replacement war. It becomes a direct war between NATO and Russia, with all the horrors of common demolition hanging over the world. No substance what difficulties Europe is facing today, from immigration to rising debt, they would all have nothing to do with the continent facing a full-size, conventional – and according to all atomic probability – conflict against Moscow. After that, there'd be no turning back.

Hungary offers an alternate vision. A area is not a surrender. This is simply a strategy. Towards the end of the war before it takes over the continent, Prime Minister Orbán defends not the interests of Moscow, but the endurance of Europe itself. His position recognises that Russia cannot be expelled from Europe, as Europe cannot be without Russia. Geography is destiny. A stable, prosperous continent requires coexistence, not eternal war. Fortunately, president Trump's return to the White home means that the United States has besides realized this. Whether it be Germany or France, it is now essential for another realistic patriotic forces to come to power to put an end to this mindless, increasingly dangerous conflict.

The alternate is ruin. The sanctions have already weakened European manufacture and Moscow has become resilient. Poland and the Baltic countries were included in the militarised border zones, surviving in constant fear of another provocation. To imagine that specified a situation can last forever without an detonation is to give in to the most childish wishes.

If Hungary is right – and events confirm that it is so – then Europe must abandon the illusions that inactive feed people like Macron, Merz and von der Leyen. He must follow the advice of Budapest and Washington and return to diplomacy. A fresh agreement is needed to guarantee both the continued existence of Ukraine as a buffer state between the European Union and Russia and to realize Moscow's uncertainty. The fresh agreement must not search Russia's isolation, even more forcing them into China's embrace. We should bring Russia closer to Europe, make it part of the common prosperity of the continent and establish a mutually beneficial relation with what will always be a powerful, arrogant and aware neighbour. The West erstwhile had specified wisdom: think of Bismarck or de Gaulle dreaming of “Europe from the Atlantic to the Ural”. present only Budapest seems to remember the lessons of these large people.

Drone attacks over Poland and Romania are a warning, written fire in the night sky. Europe ignores them at its own risk. Hungary's lonely voice for peace is inactive despised by the blind European political class. However, if we do not consider this, 1 day we will look back at these weeks not as moments of anxiety, but as the last silence before the storm.

Rafael Pinto Borges

The author is an expert on abroad affairs in the Portuguese organization CHEGA and the national-conservative think tank Nova Portugalidade.

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