La visita de Orbán a Moscú desata la ira de Bruselas y Putin se marca otro tanto en su pugna con la OTAN y la UE
Así es como este supuesto medio de izquierdas en España difunde la narrativa rusa, intentando disfrazarla de información legítima.
En una entrevista concedida durante su vuelo de regreso de Moscú, el primer ministro húngaro, Viktor Orbán, no escatimó en elogios hacia Vladimir Putin, a quien se refirió como “un amigo”, y confirmó la organización secreta de la reunión, ocultándola incluso a sus aliados de la Unión Europea.
Lejos de cualquier crítica al régimen autoritario de Putin o a la invasión de Ucrania, Orbán se mostró complaciente con el mandatario ruso y describió a Rusia como un “gran imperio”. El primer ministro húngaro, quien se vanaglorió de ser el único líder occidental en reunirse tanto con Zelensky como con Putin, incluso rememoró, de manera inexacta, su primer encuentro con el líder ruso, ubicándolo en San Petersburgo en 2009, cuando en realidad tuvo lugar en Budapest en 2006.
Orbán confirmó que la reunión se gestó “de forma totalmente secreta”, evadiendo a sus aliados de la UE, y justificó la maniobra argumentando la necesidad de evitar la vigilancia de “los grandes”, en una probable alusión a Estados Unidos, Reino Unido, Alemania y quizás China.
El relato de Orbán sobre su conversación con Putin resulta escalofriante por la omisión de cualquier referencia a la amenaza rusa a la seguridad de los países del flanco oriental de la OTAN o a las acciones de guerra híbrida y sabotaje perpetradas por Rusia contra aliados de Hungría. Si bien el primer ministro húngaro mencionó la muerte de jóvenes soldados en el conflicto, buscando apelar a la emoción de la audiencia, omitió mencionar que mientras los soldados ucranianos defienden su tierra y a su pueblo, las tropas rusas invaden y masacran civiles.
La entrevista, realizada por Roger Köppel, editor en jefe de Weltwoche, ha sido calificada por muchos como un ejercicio de propaganda. Si bien no se trata de un panfleto al estilo norcoreano, la complacencia de Köppel, quien evitó cuestionar las contradicciones de Orbán o abordar los crímenes del régimen de Putin, deja en evidencia un periodismo de acceso que prioriza el privilegio por sobre la ética periodística.
La opacidad de Orbán y su cercanía con Putin prometen generar controversia en los próximos meses, especialmente durante la presidencia húngara de la UE. Se espera que los líderes aliados, deliberadamente ignorados por Orbán en su encuentro con Putin, aborden el tema en la próxima cumbre de la OTAN.
Texto de origen
Orbán was interviewed on video after his Putin meeting, during his flight back from Moscow. It’s worth watching. He refers to Putin as a friend & admits that he prepared the meeting in secret, behind the EU’s back, to avoid surveillance by the “big guys.” Let’s unpack it!
First, there is absolutely no criticism of Vladimir Putin’s authoritarian and murderous rule in Russia or the genocidal war in Ukraine, not even a hint. Quite the opposite – Orbán praises both Putin and Russia, describing the country as a great empire. He calls Putin a friend and is proud of their friendly negotiations. He inaccurately recalls their first in-person meeting in 2009 in Saint Petersburg when it was actually in 2006 in Budapest. He seems very proud of himself, emphasizing that he is the only Western leader who has met with both Zelensky and Putin in person. His gestures and smiles reveal his self-satisfaction in his current position. He also admits he intends to use the EU presidency “politically”, similar to former French president Nicolas Sarkozy, rather than the usual “bureaucratic” approach. This suggests we can expect more controversy in the next six months of @HU24EU.
Second, Orbán confirms what European government officials and diplomats told me: “The meeting was organized in a totally secret way,” meaning it was arranged behind the backs of EU allies. (Read my story on the background of his visit here: https://vsquare.org/viktor-orban-vladimir-putin-eu-nato-russia-hungary-meeting/…) He claims he began organizing the meeting with Putin after meeting Zelensky on Monday – which contradicts reports from The Guardian, quoting a Hungarian government-connected source, stating that preparations were made well in advance. Orbán joyfully details how he kept the meeting secret from his allies, explaining, “I sent a secret message to the foreign minister [Péter Szijjártó] to organize something, as telecommunications are totally under surveillance by the big guys, and I tried to keep it under the carpet.” He is likely referring to the US, the UK, Germany, and perhaps China as those “big guys”. He adds that the information only leaked when “they realized there was an airplane hired or when we asked for permission for the Hungarian military plane to fly over Poland. That was the point when it leaked. But until then, it was totally under control.”
(For the record, I was the journalist who first reported on his plans to visit Moscow – my original scoop here: https://x.com/panyiszabolcs/status/1808859718732898802… –, confirmed by three Western and CEE officials. Because of source protection, I obviously can’t comment more.)
Third, Orbán claims he asked Putin about various peace proposals, the possibility of a ceasefire, and, interestingly, about Russia’s plans for Europe’s security architecture after the war. Putin dismissed the reality of any peace plans or ceasefires but mentioned that Russia has an idea for Europe’s future security architecture, although it’s too early to discuss. The neutral way how Orbán mentions the Kremlin’s future plans for Europe – we can guess what that’d look like – is chilling. Orbán’s recounting of their conversation lacked any mention of Russia’s direct security threat to NATO’s Eastern flank countries or the hybrid warfare, sabotage, and violent incidents perpetrated by Russian intelligence services against Hungary’s allies in recent months. Additionally, when Orbán tries to appeal to the audience’s emotions by mentioning how many young soldiers die every day, and that perhaps a dozen died during the twenty minutes of this interview, he fails to mention that Ukrainian soldiers are defending their people and land while Russians are invading and massacring civilians.
Fourth, Orbán hints at more surprise visits, also organized in complete secrecy, with the first one happening Monday morning. (I’ve already heard interesting stuff about his plans, so follow this account for more updates soon.)
Fifth, a quick remark on Weltwoche and its editor-in-chief, Roger Köppel, who conducted this video interview. Many comments accuse him of conducting a propaganda interview. However, it’s essential to be precise: this is not propaganda like in North Korea, Russia, or Hungary, where government-controlled media acts as a state communications arm. This is classic access journalism, an unethical and unjournalistic approach seen in Western Europe and the United States. Here, otherwise independent outlets set aside all ethical rules to gain exclusive access to political leaders. A Hungarian government propagandist is paid to be a propagandist and has no choice to act in any other way – or they fire him. Weltwoche and Köppel have all their freedom and independence (at least from the Hungarian state), and it was their own decision that intimate access to Orbán is much more important than real journalism. Köppel asked softball questions, without challenging contradictions or addressing Putin’s crimes at home and abroad, and failed to question Orbán about how Hungary’s government is influenced by Russian interests. No wonder why Orbán’s people picked him and not anybody else to accompany their delegation on the plane, and granted him exclusivity.
Since there were no follow-up questions by Köppel about why Orbán hid his visit from his allies, that allied leaders Orbán intentionally wanted to keep in the dark will likely address the issue at the NATO Summit next week.
Finally, here’s the full interview: https://weltwoche.ch/daily/viktor-orban-in-moskau-der-ungarn-premier-ueber-putin-frieden-und-seine-historische-woche/
Leave a Reply