Hungary, Serbia leaders back Ukraine ceasefire

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Hungarian President Katalin Novak reiterated her country’s support for a peace deal with Russia in a speech at the opening ceremony of the 2023 World Athletics Championships in Budapest on Saturday, 19 August.

Novak, a close confidante of Hungarian Prime Minister Viktor Orban, said “in the next nine days, the world’s attention will be focused on the Hungarian capital. In the shadow of the war, the role of sport as a peace-promoting force is appreciated, so it is a pleasure to host thousands of athletes and tens of thousands of fans.

Vucic doveish on Ukraine invasion

Serbian President Aleksandar Vucic met with Novak at the championships. Vucic said “Serbia anticipates facing unprecedented pressure to align with Western nations in imposing sanctions on Moscow, as global opinion that Russia cannot be overcome through military means solidifies,” Russian state news agency TASS reported.

In an interview with RTS TV channel, Vucic said “I anticipate an immense surge of pressure to implement sanctions against the Russian Federation starting next week; this pressure might just be the most formidable yet.

“We are likely to encounter numerous trials, as the situation in Ukraine has highlighted the reality that Russia cannot be easily vanquished on the battlefield. However, I won’t assert that Russia will emerge victorious either,” he added.

The Serbian leader elaborated that the notion held by some nations that Ukraine could effortlessly overpower Russia with Western weaponry has proven to be devoid of merit, TASS wrote.

West cannot win – Vucic

Earlier this month, Vucic remarked that Western countries’ collectively lack the capability to defeat Russia through armed conflict, despite sending support and weaponry to Ukraine, and said the optimal path would be an immediate ceasefire.

A Russian triumph in the Ukraine conflict would signify a setback for the West and NATO, he said, adding that Serbian armed forces have achieved heightened efficiency and combat readiness by analysing the conflict in Ukraine.

Kremlin ally Orban talks up peace deal

Orban said in an interview on Hungarian state radio on Friday that both Europe’s and Hungary’s economies are now being decided by the war in Ukraine, and would perform much better if the conflict were to end.

According to Orban, widely seen as Russia’s closest ally in the EU, “the root of the problem, the war, cannot be remedied; while there’s no peace, the war economy will be here to stay.

“Brussels bureaucrats won’t end the sanctions, even though Hungary had been urging it to do so,” he said. Ending the war would change the environment for the European economy overnight, he said, adding that “peace is the only politically and ethically right approach.”