BUDAPEST — Hungary has once again vetoed the European Union's (EU) allocation
of 6.5 billion euros ($6.83 billion) to member states supplying weapons to
Ukraine, Foreign and Trade Minister Peter Szijjarto announced in Brussels.
Speaking after a meeting of the EU Foreign Affairs Council,
Szijjarto on Monday confirmed on his official Facebook page that he had blocked
disbursement of the funds from the European Peace Facility, citing Hungary's
long-standing opposition to mandatory contributions of arms shipments, Xinhua
news agency reported.
"Hungary has not supplied weapons before, has not
contributed to any arms shipments," Szijjarto said. He stressed that while
Hungary would not interfere with member states funding such initiatives
voluntarily, it would not support making these contributions compulsory.
Szijjarto also voiced his disapproval of the proposed
relocation of an EU coordination unit to Kyiv and deploy advisors for security
sector reforms in Ukraine. He called these measures "highly dangerous and
escalating the conflict," highlighting the associated risks of personnel
deployment within an EU framework.
Moreover, the minister rejected proposals to sanction
Russia's UN ambassador and its Olympic Committee, stating, "Mixing sports
with geopolitics is unacceptable."
Describing Brussels' approach as a "pro-war strategy"
that ignored a "new reality" shaped by recent Russian battlefield
gains and the reelection of US President Donald Trump, the minister expressed
broader criticism of EU policies.
Szijjarto said that the council's rejection of his
government's recent Christmas ceasefire proposal was disappointing. "Not
only was there no support for a ceasefire that could save lives, but many
argued against it," he remarked. He stressed that halting the fighting
could achieve what armaments valued at tens or hundreds of billions of euros
have failed to accomplish: preventing further Russian advances.
