Benny Moonen

Orban no longer alone. Some European leaders willing to throw Ukraine under the bus due to lure of Russian energy and impact of war in Iran and spiking energy prices. “Belgium’s prime minister has called for the EU to “normalise relations with Russia” to access cheap energy, a rebuff to the bloc’s agreed strategy of maximum support to Ukraine as it seeks to battle Moscow’s four-year invasion. “We must normalise relations with Russia and regain access to cheap energy. That is common sense,” said Bart De Wever, a rightwing Flemish nationalist who has previously challenged wholehearted EU support for Ukraine. He was speaking in an interview with the Belgian newspaper L’Echo. “In private, European leaders agree with me, but no one dares to say it out loud. We must end the conflict in the interest of Europe, without being naïve towards Putin,” De Wever said in an interview published at the weekend.”