During remarks on the Senate floor, Senate Minority Leader Mitch McConnell (R-KY) spoke about Hungary Prime Minister Viktor Orbán's recent diplomatic trip to Russia and China.
Fuel your success with Forbes. Gain unlimited access to premium journalism, including breaking news, groundbreaking in-depth reported stories, daily digests and more. Plus, members get a front-row seat at members-only events with leading thinkers and doers, access to premium video that can help you get ahead, an ad-light experience, early access to select products including NFT drops and more:
https://account.forbes.com/membership/?utm_source=youtube&utm_medium=display&utm_campaign=growth_non-sub_paid_subscribe_ytdescript
Stay Connected
Forbes on Facebook: http://fb.com/forbes
Forbes Video on Twitter: http://www.twitter.com/forbes
Forbes Video on Instagram: http://instagram.com/forbes
More From Forbes: http://forbes.com
Fuel your success with Forbes. Gain unlimited access to premium journalism, including breaking news, groundbreaking in-depth reported stories, daily digests and more. Plus, members get a front-row seat at members-only events with leading thinkers and doers, access to premium video that can help you get ahead, an ad-light experience, early access to select products including NFT drops and more:
https://account.forbes.com/membership/?utm_source=youtube&utm_medium=display&utm_campaign=growth_non-sub_paid_subscribe_ytdescript
Stay Connected
Forbes on Facebook: http://fb.com/forbes
Forbes Video on Twitter: http://www.twitter.com/forbes
Forbes Video on Instagram: http://instagram.com/forbes
More From Forbes: http://forbes.com
Category
🗞
NewsTranscript
00:00Last week, without coordinating with Ukraine, NATO, or the EU, Hungarian Prime Minister
00:10Viktor Orban showed up in Moscow on a self-aggrandizing peace mission, giving Putin a chance to counterbalance
00:21the diplomatic pressure he's otherwise feeling.
00:26Then he took to the pages of Newsweek to accuse the alliance of seeking conflict rather than
00:32resolving it.
00:34How infidious, Mr. President.
00:39Hungary knows what Soviet repression feels like.
00:45How in the world its leader could mistake NATO's efforts to help Ukraine defend itself
00:51against Russian aggression, for the pursuit of war is beyond me.
00:57Neither Ukraine nor NATO provoked Russia into invading Ukraine in 2014.
01:05Neither Ukraine nor NATO provoked Russia into escalating its conflict in 2022.
01:14As I've said, it was the West's failure to meet Russian aggression with strength that
01:19emboldened Putin.
01:21Unfortunately, Mr. Orban's curious soft spot for authoritarians isn't limited to the aggressor
01:29that ironically drove Hungary to join NATO in the first place.
01:35This week, he also found time to visit Beijing to reinforce what both Hungary and the PRC
01:42call a, quote, an all-weather comprehensive strategic partnership.
01:48Well, Republicans in Washington who fashion themselves both national conservatives and
01:57China hawks should pay more attention to Mr. Orban's actions and ask themselves if they
02:04are consistent with American interests.
02:09It's certainly difficult to explain away the data.
02:13Three years ago, Hungary accounted for less than 1%, 1% of Chinese investment in Europe.
02:23Last year, it received more than 44%.
02:30With an economy smaller than Kentucky, Hungary attracted more Chinese foreign direct investment
02:36than Europe's top three economies combined.
02:41I thought America and our allies were supposed to be reducing our reliance on the PRC.
02:50Money talks.
02:52So perhaps it's not surprising that Orban finds time to confer with President Xi, but
02:59his government has gone out of its way to slow walk European assistance to Ukraine.
03:07And it chased deeper trade ties with Iran.
03:14Budapest publicized a call between Hungary's foreign minister and his new Iranian counterpart
03:23with not a word of criticism of Tehran's support for terrorism.
03:29Malign activities across the Middle East or support for Russia's war of aggression.
03:38So much for Orban's pursuit of peace.
03:43Madam President, the most successful military alliance in human history didn't get this
03:47way by letting dictators and theocrats eat our lunch.
03:53China hawks should be the first to discourage the expansion of PRC tools like Huawei on
03:59European soil.
04:02Friends of Israel should have no time for myths of constructive engagement with an Iranian
04:07regime that underwrites the slaughter of Jews.
04:13NATO members ought to know better, and many do.
04:18But clearly, we have a lot of work still ahead of us.