Fmr PM Orban: Putin has broader plan, Russians are chess players, they think strategically

The leader of the Force of the Right party, former Liberal Prime Minister Ludovic Orban, believes that one of Russia's goals is to destroy European unity and Euro-Atlantic cohesion, and Vladimir Putin's plan is broader than a conquest of Ukraine, Agerpres reports.

"Unfortunately, many of the European leaders do not understand the Russians. The Russians are chess players, they think strategically. They think several moves ahead and take steps that you do not realize. I believe that one of Russia's goals is to destroy European unity. Another goal is to destroy Euro-Atlantic cohesion between the United States and the countries of the European Union. Europe, without the United States, without Canada and the United Kingdom, is extremely vulnerable from a military point of view. Not to mention 'intelligence', not to mention a lot of other issues that involve the possibility of retaliating against attacks, let's call them hybrid," Orban told private broadcaster Realitatea TV on Thursday night.

"If the Russians conquer Ukraine, Romania will be Russia's neighbour. If the Russians conquer Ukraine, they will certainly continue their attacks. Not to mention that even the countries that do have a certain amount of independence from Russia, such as Georgia, Azerbaijan, the Republic of Moldova, will come under intense threat. Then, given that we are talking about the rebuilding of the USSR, let's not forget that the Baltic states were part of the USSR. There are very important Russian minorities, with a strong capacity to create challenges that create contexts. My opinion is that Putin, in his mind, I don't think conquering Ukraine will be enough for him. My opinion is that he has a bigger plan," the former prime minister added.

Ludovic Orban stressed that it is an "accomplishment" that Romania is a member of NATO and a member of the European Union, and that he doesn't believe that "Putin can be so crazy as to commit an aggression against a NATO country, because that would give rise to a world conflagration, in which, obviously, Russia has no chance of withstanding, even if, perhaps, in the first phase, they will sustain such a war, but in the medium and long term they are doomed.

He opined that Romania must continue its military endowment and make all the diplomatic effort to strengthen NATO's presence on the eastern flank, but that there must be "maximum sanctions, that is, no limit to these sanctions imposed against Russia".