"The threat of escalation and the expansion of the war is greater than ever," Orban said in a video posted on his social media page after being briefed at a meeting of the Defence Council.

He said Donald Trump's impending presidency had made the prospect of peace, or at least a ceasefire, tangible. But a pro-war US administration was "still in power" and would remain so for the next two months, he added.

"In practice this means that Ukrainians fired long-range missiles into Russian territory on Tuesday, and Russia responded by adopting a stricter nuclear doctrine," Orban said.

The prime minister said that in the next few weeks and months Hungary must draw on "all its knowledge and diplomatic experience" in order to "stay out of this war".

Orban: 'We are ahead of extremely risky times'

Prime Minister Viktor Orban gave a reception to members of the Diaspora Council attending a meeting in Budapest, the PM's press chief, Bertalan Havasi, said on Wednesday.

Regarding world politics, Orban told participants that while the election of Donald Trump had ended progressive-liberal government in the US, the two months until he is inaugurated "will hold a lot of insecurity in the US and Europe, and that may be a source of enormous risks."

"Those on the side of war still haven't acknowledged the new reality. We must do everything in our power against an escalation of the war in Ukraine -- a ceasefire and peace talks have never been more important than now," Orban said.

"That is all the more important" because the Hungarian government has prepared a "peace budget" to help its new economic policy to success, he said. "Based on that [budget], people and companies may look into the future more positively," he added.

Source: 
MTI - The Hungarian News Agency, founded in 1881.

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