EU's further development faces challenges, says Hungarian premier

By Elena Teslova

MOSCOW (AA) — The EU faces serious challenges regarding its further development, Hungarian Prime Minister Viktor Orban said on Friday.

Speaking at the 10th summit of the Organization of Turkic States (OTS) in Kazakhstan's capital Astana, Orban said European nations were debating whether to limit relations with countries in the East, including China.

Underlining Hungary's support for continued connections between countries, he called the OTS a "champion of connectivity."

Orban also advocated for the creation of a new security architecture in Europe that would address Ukraine's security concerns and be acceptable for Russia.

"I am convinced that the new European security architecture should include Türkiye and, through Türkiye, the Turkic world, because without Türkiye, it is impossible to imagine a European security architecture that will bring sustainable and long-term peace," he said.

Hungary is committed to the success of Turkic cooperation and will continue to do everything to ensure that the OTS initiatives achieve their stated goals, he said.

The OTS, formerly called the Turkic Council, was established in 2009 as an intergovernmental organization made up of prominent independent Turkic countries that work together to elevate relations and union among themselves.

Its members are Türkiye, Azerbaijan, Kazakhstan, Kyrgyzstan and Uzbekistan, while Hungary, Turkmenistan and the Turkish Republic of Northern Cyprus have observer status.