BUDAPEST, October 16. /TASS/. Although the European Union is stronger than Russia militarily and economically, it should nevertheless bring Moscow to the negotiating table to reach a new agreement on European security, Hungarian Prime Minister Viktor Orban said.
"Today, Europe is much stronger than Russia," Orban told Hungarian minority organizations abroad. "There are maybe 140 million Russians, and the population of the EU countries exceeds 400 million. We are significantly superior to Russia by economy and military budget, with the exception of nuclear potential."
He said that "this strength must be demonstrated at the negotiating table" on a new agreement on security in Europe. "A new European security system must be built, and the issues of armaments and the size of the armed forces of different countries must be clarified. An agreement should be signed on these issues, a control system should be created, because states one after another abandoned previous armaments agreements in the shadow of the war," Orban recalled.
According to him, there are some EU leaders that believe "negotiations [with Russia] will have to be conducted, but not now."
The prime minister also explained that an agreement with Russia on security in Europe is also necessary to prevent an arms race. "Constant spending on armaments is not in Hungary's interests," he said.
