German Foreign Minister Annalena Baerbock and her Hungarian counterpart, Peter Szijjarto, had an argument during a meeting in Brussels over the role Hungary's OTP bank believed to be playing in the Ukraine conflict by allegedly providing credit lines to Russia and recognizing the Donetsk and Luhansk people's republics (DPR, LPR), Politico reported, citing sources
MOSCOW (Pakistan Point News / Sputnik - 23rd May, 2023) German Foreign Minister Annalena Baerbock and her Hungarian counterpart, Peter Szijjarto, had an argument during a meeting in Brussels over the role Hungary's OTP bank believed to be playing in the Ukraine conflict by allegedly providing credit lines to Russia and recognizing the Donetsk and Luhansk people's republics (DPR, LPR), Politico reported, citing sources.
The bank has been at the center of officials' discussions in recent days as Hungary has refused to approve more EU military aid for Ukraine until Kiev removes OTP from a list of "war sponsors," with the dispute delaying a new package of Russia sanctions, the report said.
During Monday's meeting in Brussels, Baerbock cited unspecified reports that the OTP had recognized the DPR and LPR and extended credit lines to the Russian military, while Budapest denied the allegations and reiterated that the bank's leadership had publicly expressed its support for Ukraine, the news outlet said.
Last week, EU chief diplomat Josep Borrell said the 11th package of sanctions against Russia would target entities that are suspected of evading sanctions through third parties, while maintaining the principle of not imposing additional territorial sanctions. Borrell noted that preventing sanctions evasion is a "delicate issue" because the EU cannot force third countries to comply with European restrictive measures as attempts to do so could antagonize those states.
Western countries imposed sanctions on Russia in response to its military operation in Ukraine in early 2022. In February 2023, the EU blocked the transit of European goods and dual-use technologies through Russia in the 10th sanctions package to prevent possible sanctions evasion.
Earlier in May, Ukraine's National Agency on Corruption Prevention (NACP) announced that it had placed OTP Bank Group on its list of "international war sponsors" because of the bank's alleged continued cooperation with Russia. Hungary, in turn, blocked a 500 million euro tranche for Ukraine.
Since the beginning of the Ukraine conflict, Hungary has consistently opposed sanctions on Russian energy carriers and weapons supplies to Ukraine. In March 2022, the Hungarian parliament issued a decree banning arms deliveries to Ukraine from Hungarian territory. Szijjarto explained that Budapest was seeking the security of the Zakarpattia region, where ethnic Hungarians live, because supplying arms through its territory would make it a legitimate military target for Russia.
