Hungary’s upcoming presidency of the EU Council, starting 1 July, is set to see increased dialog with Ukraine, according to Balázs Orbán, political advisor to Hungarian Prime Minister Viktor Orbán. However, Hungary maintains its longstanding position against providing military aid to Ukraine through the European Peace Facility (EPF), he said in Brussels on 28 June, Suspilne reports.
Hungary, known as the EU’s most pro-Russian member, consistently opposes the union’s collective military aid to Ukraine. The country has refused to send weapons to Kyiv and remains the sole EU state maintaining ties with the Kremlin since Russia’s full-scale invasion of Ukraine.
The advisor stated,
“We don’t want to participate in the military support of Ukraine. Because this has been the Hungarian position for a long time,” he said, emphasizing that while Hungary supports funding the EPF, it wants the money directed to other areas rather than supporting Ukraine.
The advisor explained that ongoing negotiations aim to find a way for Hungary to ensure its resources in the EPF are not directed towards Ukraine.
“We have to make sure that our European partners want to send their money to the European Peace Facility, to Ukraine, and we don’t want to do that, and this has to be done properly,” Balázs Orbán said.
Balázs Orbán expects more frequent and regular communication between the leaders of Ukraine and Hungary during Budapest’s EU Council presidency. He noted that this increased diplomatic effort is necessary given Hungary’s role, stating,
“This requires more diplomatic efforts from the Hungarian side, although we have difficult and different views with Ukraine, but this doesn’t mean that we don’t need to communicate in this situation.”
While Orbán did not disclose details of the conversation between President Zelenskywy and Viktor Orbán during the European Council roundtable, he affirmed that dialogue between the countries will intensify.
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