Monday, Dec 23, 2024

Trump's plan to end the Ukraine war is to totally cut off funding, says Putin's closest EU ally


Viktor Orban, left, and Donald Trump, right, seen in a doorway at Mar-a-Lago in a still from a video shared by Orban's X account on march 10, 2024.
Viktor Orbán, left, and Donald Trump, right, seen in a doorway at Mar-a-Lago in a still from a video shared by Orbán's X account on march 10, 2024.
  • Trump "will not give a penny" more to Ukraine if he becomes president, Hungary's prime minister said.
  • That's how Trump plans to end the war, Viktor Orbán, who met Trump at Mar-a-Lago, said.
  • The Trump campaign has not said whether the pair discussed Ukraine during the visit.

Donald Trump's solution to ending the war in Ukraine is to give "not one more penny" to fund Ukraine's defense, Hungarian leader Viktor Orbán said after meeting with the former president.

Orbán, who endorsed Trump's bid for power in the 2024 presidential elections, recently met with the former president at Mar-a-Lago, according to a statement from the Trump campaign released on Friday.

In comments made to Hungarian news outlet M1, Orbán said Trump has detailed plans on how to end the war, Reuters reported.

Describing the conversation, Orbán claimed that Trump said he "will not give a penny into the Ukraine-Russia war and therefore the war will end," Orbán said, per Reuters.

"If the Americans do not give money and weapons, and also the Europeans, then this war will be over," Orbán said, adding: "If the Americans do not give money the Europeans are unable to finance this war on their own, and then the war will end."

The Trump campaign's statement about the meeting between Trump and Orbán didn't mention Ukraine, saying only that the two men had discussed issues affecting their respective countries and the importance of strong border security.

The campaign did not immediately respond to Business Insider's request for comment, sent outside of working hours.

Trump has previously claimed he would "end that war in one day," without specifying how that would be achieved.

Pro-Trump Republicans in Congress have also vocally opposed further aid to Ukraine, sending a bill with $60 billion earmarked for the country into limbo.

Trump has previously hinted at his vision of a peace deal for Ukraine, saying that he "could've made a deal" when President Vladimir Putin invaded that would have allowed Russia to take over "Russian-speaking areas" of the country.

He has also frequently expressed frustration with fellow NATO states and the scale of their contribution to collective defense.

Countries in the bloc have vastly ramped up their defense spending in the last 10 years, but many still don't meet the 2%-of-GDP threshold for defense spending.

Trump has suggested that, under his leadership, the US would refuse to come to the aid of fellow NATO states that have not met the threshold, even saying that he would encourage Russia to attack them.

President Joe Biden slammed Trump's meeting with Orbán, who is considered President Vladimir Putin's closest ally in Europe.

Biden said that the Hungarian leader "is looking for dictatorship," as Politico reported.

Read the original article on Business Insider
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By: [email protected] (Mia Jankowicz)
Title: Trump's plan to end the Ukraine war is to totally cut off funding, says Putin's closest EU ally
Sourced From: www.businessinsider.com/trump-will-not-give-penny-more-to-ukraine-orban-russia-2024-3
Published Date: Mon, 11 Mar 2024 13:03:11 +0000