Fico for Hungarian TV: Ridiculous to Say that Rule of Law Violated in Hungary

Budapest, September 23 (TASR-correspondent) - If someone says that the principles of the rule of law are being violated in Hungary, as the European Commission is doing in this case, then it's ridiculous, former Slovak prime minister Robert Fico (Smer-SD) stated in an interview with Hungarian commercial television HirTV. On Friday, several Hungarian media quoted from the extensive interview with the ex-prime minister, which is to be broadcast on Saturday evening. Fico compared the European Commission's criticism of Hungary with the situation with the rule of law in Slovakia. "Then what's happening in Slovakia? Some people are dying in prisons there, and in Slovakia we're witnessing the Justice Ministry apologising to people who were wrongfully convicted," said the opposition politician. The Smer-SD leader defended Hungarian Prime Minister Viktor Orban's actions in the interview. He called the Brussels proposal that Hungary should not be paid €7.5 billion in European Union support a punishment for the fact that Orban and his cabinet are strongly promoting their ideas, for example, about the war in Ukraine. Regarding the war in Ukraine, the ex-premier said that he shares Orban's views, noting that a large part of the world perceives this conflict differently than the EU and the United States. "As prime minister, I wouldn't send any ammunition to Ukraine. Because whoever sends weapons to Ukraine, votes for the continuation of the war. No one can say in one sentence that they're for peace and at the same time they supply weapons to Ukraine," underlined Fico, who, like Orban, sees sanctions against Russia as counterproductive. am/mcs