West's sanctions turn Ukraine conflict into 'global economic war': Hungary's Orban

BUDAPEST - The Western countries' sanctions against Russia have turned the "local" conflict between Russia and Ukraine into a "global economic war," Hungary's Prime Minister Viktor Orban said here on Monday.

An increasing number of countries across the world is becoming "victim" of the conflict in Ukraine, Orban said at the opening of Parliament's autumn session.

He said that the United States and the European Union (EU) were supplying Ukraine with weapons and money, but Russia's reserves of material and men were "endless."

According to Orban, the "EU's bureaucrats" promised that the sanctions would hurt Russia and bring an end to the conflict, but none of that happened.

"European people have become poorer (because of the sanctions), while Russia has not fallen to its knees," he argued. "This weapon has backfired: with the sanctions, Europe has shot itself in the foot."

Orban also said that families across Europe were paying the price of the sanctions in their energy bills.

He said that through inflation and rising prices, European countries are now paying a "sanctions surcharge."

Orban also said he was convinced that if the sanctions ended, prices would go down very quickly. "Let's be blunt, if we remove the sanctions, prices would immediately drop by half, and inflation would also at least be halved."

He said he firmly believed that without the sanctions, the European economy would also "gain strength" and avoid the "threatening recession."

"We demand an immediate ceasefire and peace talks rather than prolonging and deepening" the conflict, he said, noting that Hungary's priorities were to preserve its security and its economic and national sovereignty.