“Hungary does not support further funding for Ukraine!”

In a statement given to Hungarian News Agency MTI on the sidelines of a meeting of EU defence ministers, Kristóf Szalay-Bobrovniczky regretted that the EU member states had not changed their stance on the issue, and continue to discuss weapons deliveries to Ukraine.

He underlined Hungary’s commitment to promoting an immediate ceasefire and peace talks. The Hungarian government does not support Ukraine’s continued funding as the country barely wanted to remove one of the largest Hungarian banks from its blacklist. The Ukrainians had put this bank on their list of the International Sponsors of War on the basis of false information and there is no guarantee that this could not happen again, he warned.

According to his statement, the EU defence ministers had also discussed the situation in the Sahel, an issue with a direct bearing on Hungary’s security. He noted that the Hungarian Parliament had adopted a package last week, which includes Hungarian military assistance for this African region. He emphasized that he considers the Western Balkans, located south of Hungary, as another important region, which is also one of the most important migration routes into Europe. The stability of the Western Balkans region is directly connected to Hungary’s security, he stated.

Finally, the Minister of Defence called it a “major step forward” that Hungary will take over the command of the European Union military mission in Bosnia-Herzegovina next year. A Hungarian general will command the contingent that will guard the security of this region, he stressed. “Peace requires strength. We carry on with the work” – he noted in closing his statement.