Hungarian Prime Minister Viktor Orban said on Saturday Russia\u2019s leadership was \u201chyper rational\u201d and that Ukraine would never be able to fulfil its hopes of becoming a member of the European Union or NATO. <\/p>\n
Orban, a nationalist in power since 2010, made the comments during a speech in which he forecast a shift in global power away from the \u201cirrational\u201d West towards Asia and Russia. <\/p>\n
\u201cIn the next long decades, maybe centuries, Asia will be the dominant centre of the world,\u201d Orban said, mentioning China, India, Pakistan and Indonesia as the world\u2019s future big powers. <\/p>\n
\u201cAnd we Westerners pushed the Russians into this bloc as well,\u201d he said in the televised speech before ethnic Hungarians at a festival in the town of Baile Tusnad in neighbouring Romania. <\/p>\n
Orban, whose country currently holds the rotating EU presidency, has sharply differed from the rest of the bloc by seeking warmer ties with Beijing and Moscow, and he angered some EU leaders when he went on surprise visits to Kyiv, Moscow and Beijing this month for talks on the war in Ukraine. <\/p>\n
He said that in contrast to the \u201cweakness\u201d of the West, Russia\u2019s position in world affairs was rational and predictable, saying the country had shown economic flexibility in adapting to Western sanctions since it invaded Crimea in 2014. <\/p>\n
Orban, whose own government has passed a number of anti-LGBT measures, said Russia had gained clout in many parts of the world by cracking down on LGBTQ+ rights. <\/p>\n
\u201cThe strongest international appeal of Russian soft power is its opposition to LGBTQ,\u201d he said. <\/p>\n
He added that Ukraine would never become a member of the EU or NATO because \u201cwe Europeans do not have enough money for that\u201d. <\/p>\n
\u201cThe EU needs to give up its identity as a political project and become an economic and defence project,\u201d Orban added. <\/p>\n
The EU opened membership talks with Ukraine late last month, although a long and tough road lies ahead of the country before it can join the bloc. <\/p>\n
A declaration at the end of the NATO summit this month said the alliance will support Ukraine on \u201cits irreversible path\u201d towards membership. <\/p>\n<\/p>\n
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