BUDAPEST, February 21. /TASS/. Hungary suggests that European liberals stand down and let Russia and the United States negotiate a peaceful settlement of the conflict in Ukraine, said Hungary’s Foreign Minister Peter Szijjarto.
“We consider any proposal that could interfere with the upcoming US-Russian agreement to be extremely harmful. We consider any proposal that goes against peace efforts to be harmful and dangerous, and that is why we urge the wailing and shouting European liberals to step aside and let peace negotiations proceed,” he commented on the statements of German Foreign Minister Annalena Baerbock about the need to continue military assistance to Ukraine.
Szijjarto called his German counterpart “one of the most dogged pro-war politicians in Europe” and said that Hungary “rejects in the strongest possible terms the use of European citizens’ money by Brussels to further finance the war.”
“The European economy has already been bled dry. Europe does not have the money to send Ukraine new billions. In the future, not a single penny or euro cent should be spent on war,” Szijjarto told a news conference after a meeting with Christian Hafenecker, Secretary General of the Austrian Freedom Party.
“Now there is hope that the war will end, and it is necessary to support negotiations that will turn this hope into reality, rather than going against them.”
Earlier Hungarian Prime Minister Viktor Orban said that Brussels was already discussing assistance to Kiev after the possible cessation of support from Washington. The European Commission wants Hungary to allocate 500 million euros a year for these purposes, but this is absolutely unacceptable, the head of government noted.
European media reported citing sources that Brussels is considering various options for raising these funds, including the creation of a special fund. From six billion to ten billion euros could be allocated to Ukraine by the EU countries in 2025. Due to the lack of unity on this issue, the EU admits that this will not be done by all members of the association, but only by a “coalition of individual countries.”
