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[Text/Observer.com Chen Sijia] According to the Hungarian National Daily on July 27, Hungarian Prime Minister Orban said in a speech in Romania that day that since the Russia-Ukraine conflict, Western countries have been pursuing illogical policies, so the West will find it difficult to cope with challenges from the East. He believes that the "irrational" West will lose power and Asia will become the "dominant center" of the world.

Orban said European leaders believed that sanctions could bring Russia to its knees, but that was not the case. He pointed out that after the Crimea crisis in 2014, Russia had learned its lesson and had become more adaptable. "Due to sanctions, Hungarian food could not be exported to Russia, but Russia has now become one of the world's major agricultural product exporters."

He criticized that sanctions against Russia actually undermined Europe's fundamental interests, causing energy prices to soar and making the European economy uncompetitive. In Orban's view, Russia's policies are logical and predictable, while the "weak and divided" West pursues incomprehensible and unpredictable policies, so the West will find it difficult to cope with challenges from the East.

Screenshot of Hungarian Prime Minister Orban's speech in Romania

Orban believes that Asia may dominate the world's development in the next few decades: "We are facing a change in the world order. This change will start from Asia, and Asia will become the dominant center of the world. Asia now has population advantages, technological advantages and capital advantages, and Western countries have pushed Russia to that side."

He said that this process has become irreversible after China was invited to join the World Trade Organization (WTO) in 2001. He predicted that Asian countries such as China, India, Pakistan, Indonesia and others will develop into major world powers, and the BRICS and the Shanghai Cooperation Organization will lay the foundation for the emerging world economic order.

In addition, Orban said in his speech that he believed Ukraine would never become a member of the European Union or NATO due to the lack of sufficient funds from Europe, and that "the EU needs to abandon its identity as a political project and become an economic and defense project."

Hungary is currently holding the rotating presidency of the European Union. Reuters said that unlike other EU countries, the Orban government seeks to establish closer relations with Russia and China.

Earlier this month, Orban visited Ukraine, Russia and China. He also wrote to all EU member state leaders, suggesting that the EU develop a sovereign and independent strategic approach, "reopen direct diplomatic communication channels with Russia", maintain high-level contacts with the Ukrainian authorities, and hold talks with China on "the format of the next peace conference".

But EU officials refused to accept Orban's proposal. On July 16, local time, European Council President Michel wrote to Orban, saying that the EU's rotating presidency was not qualified to represent the EU internationally, and the European Council had not authorized it to represent the EU in international affairs. He stressed that the EU would unwaveringly support Ukraine and its people.

On the 18th local time, European Commission President Ursula von der Leyen accused Hungary of pursuing a "policy of appeasement" toward Russia. She claimed: "Russia expects Europe and the West to become weak, and some European countries are cooperating." Von der Leyen also denied that Orban's contact with Russia was exploring a "path of peace" and advocated that the EU and NATO jointly establish a "real defense alliance."

The EU leadership and some member states are trying to suppress Hungary. On July 15, a spokesperson for the European Commission announced that in light of developments since Hungary assumed the rotating presidency of the EU Council, European Commission President Ursula von der Leyen decided not to send senior EU Commission officials to attend the Council meeting chaired by Hungary, but only to send senior civil servants to attend the informal meeting of the Council.

In response to the European Commission's decision, Hungarian Minister of European Affairs János Boka said that the activities organized by the EU's rotating presidency are aimed at addressing common challenges facing the EU, and the European Commission cannot pick and choose the institutions and member states it wants to cooperate with. He also questioned: "Are all the decisions of the European Commission now based on political considerations?"

Russian presidential press secretary Peskov said on the 26th: "Now almost the entire European Union is laughing at Orban's visit to Russia, but these people claim to be the center of civilization. The situation in this regard is extremely terrible."

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