Orbán: Hungary would turn away refugee tide from Turkey

BBJ

Hungary will defend its borders 100%, even if Turkey carries out its threat to release masses of migrants towards the European Union, Hungarian Prime Minister Viktor Orbán said in an interview with Brazilian daily newspaper Folha de S. Paulo, government web portal kormany.hu announced yesterday.

Prime Minister Viktor Orbán. (Photo: Kormany.hu)

The São Paulo newspaper recalled that the refugee agreement between the EU and Turkey specified the abolition of compulsory visas for Turkish citizens. Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdoğan has stressed that if Brussels fails to keep to the agreement, Ankara will unleash waves of refugees towards the EU.

The Hungarian prime minister said that he sees it as “impossible” to allow Turkish citizens visa-free travel to Europe, and that European countries will be unable to keep their promise to Turkey. At the same time, Orbán said he does not fear Ankara’s threat, and declared his support for the Turkish president and the stability of Turkey.

“If there is no stability in Turkey, this will be a problem for the whole region,” said Orbán. “We must support the Turkish government.”

Orbán was also asked in the interview whether the arrival of refugees might help resolve demographic problems in the European Union.

“Never,” he replied. “They could cause a more serious problem by building a parallel society in Europe. Migrants arrive with different cultural notions, and such parallel societies are dangerous, destabilizing EU countries.”

Orbán also repeated his support for U.S. presidential candidate Donald Trump in the interview, saying that “Trump’s foreign policy would be the best for us.” He added: “Trump defends the monitoring of migrants. He also opposes democracy building in other countries, and I agree with him on this.”

Meanwhile, as reported by MTI, Turkish Prime Minister Binali Yildirim praised Hungary’s attitude towards the attempted putsch in Turkey on July 15 as “an example that should be followed by other European Union countries.”

Speaking at discussions with Hungarian Foreign Minister Péter Szijjártó in Ankara Tuesday, Yildirim described Szijjártó’s visit as a strong expression of solidarity which he valued greatly. He also emphasized that the purges following the attempted putsch would take place within the framework of a democratic state governed by the rule of law, and confirmed that the Hungarian authorities stand willing to cooperate.

Index.hu cited state-run Turkish press agency Anadolu as reporting that Szijjártó voiced Hungary’s support for Turkey in the fight against terrorism, adding that the foreign minister also stressed that the Hungarian government made its position clear from the very start that it regarded the events of July 15 as a terror attack.