Hungarian Prime Minister Viktor Orban has once again spoken out against Ukraine's accession to the EU or NATO, saying that the country should be a buffer zone between Russia and the West. He said this in a debate with former Austrian Chancellor Wolfgang Schüssel, Die Presse reports.

"Whether you like it or not, whether Ukrainians like it or not, Ukraine is where it is on the map. The best prospect would be for it to be a buffer zone between Russia and the West - with security guarantees, of course. If this fails, Ukraine will lose its land. The Russians will destroy Ukraine again and again, again and again, again and again. Russia will never accept a member of the EU and NATO like Ukraine on its doorstep. Never," Orban emphasized.

According to him, in 2008, Ukraine and Georgia could have been admitted to the EU and NATO, but this chance was lost then, and "since then Russia has become stronger, and it is obvious that it will not allow this to happen now."

"In 2008, we failed to successfully conclude negotiations on the accession of Ukraine and Georgia, thus losing Ukraine's prospects as a future member of the European Union and NATO," Orban said.