Martijn Vos

Lavrov to Szijjarto: "[Following the information received about the Commission meeting] Sometimes a good willed blackmail is the best option." Szijjarto to Lavrov: "I am at your disposal." Lavrov to Szijjarto: "The Americans said that if they manage to sideline Ukraine, there are no limits [to U.S.-Russia economic cooperation]." Szijjarto to Lavrov: "Can Orban meet with Putin? Anywhere in Russia would be fine. You should know that the prime minister [Orban] is very flexible about the location." These are just a few exchanges from the latest revelation by the journalistic consortium investigating and publishing evidence that Hungary has violated European and likely national laws and betrayed Europe and Ukraine. Throughout Russia’s war against Ukraine, Szijjarto provided Russia with information, documents, and assistance that led to a slowing of European Union pressure or even its reduction. This gave Russia an advantage in the diplomatic, political, and economic fight with the European Union. The actions of Orbán, Szijjártó, and the Hungarian government (and the Slovak government under Fico) have aided Russia in its efforts to kill Ukrainians. This is what we must remember. The actions of Orbán’s Hungary have contributed to the killing of Ukrainians. The rape of Ukrainian children. The massacre of entire families. These are the results of the collaboration between Hungary (and Fico’s Slovakia) and Russia. The actions taken by Orban and Szijjarto, as proven by investigative journalists, have clear characteristics: they are deliberate, premeditated, and pursue clear objectives of supporting Russia against the humanitarian interests of Ukraine and the European Union. Hungary blackmailed the European Union to achieve Russia’s objectives! We learn from the new investigative episode that after Alaska, in Anchorage, Putin gave the meeting with Trump a perfect score and that America has an interest in setting aside the Ukrainian issue, and that then U.S.-Russia cooperation will be unlimited. We can speculate that this remark by Lavrov is Russian disinformation, but I can’t help but notice that Trump has become even more of Putin’s puppet after Alaska, and Zelenskyy was even more to blame for everything. By the way, Szijjarto is the one who shook hands yesterday with a guy who acts like a useful idiot for Russia: JD Vance. JD Vance, who came yesterday to support Orban in the election in four days. Who called Trump during the rally for Orban, and whom Trump once again backed. Trump and Vance are the ones who tried to humiliate Zelenskyy in the Oval Office, and they are also the ones threatening Europe, aiding extremists in Europe, playing into Russia’s hands, and pressuring Ukraine. Now that you’ve read this, don’t you understand Zelenskyy better when he lost his temper and said he’d hand Orban’s phone to the guys in the Ukrainian Armed Forces so they could call him?

Trump is a military moron.  His war, with a price tag of $44 billion and $4+ gas, made us worse off today than we were when he started it. And if he restarts this war we will be in even worse shape. We must pass our War Powers Resolution to end this war for good.