Budapest is waiting for a report on how Kiev spent funds allocated to it under the European Peace Facility, before the bloc approves another 20 billion euros ($22 billion) military aid to Ukraine, Hungarian Foreign Minister Peter Szijjarto said on Thursday
BUDAPEST (Pakistan Point News / Sputnik - 20th July, 2023) Budapest is waiting for a report on how Kiev spent funds allocated to it under the European Peace Facility, before the bloc approves another 20 billion euros ($22 billion) military aid to Ukraine, Hungarian Foreign Minister Peter Szijjarto said on Thursday.
"Brussels wants to allocate a new 20 billion euros for arms supplies to Ukraine ... but the Hungarian position is still clear: we are waiting for a report on over 10 million euros previously sent to Ukraine," Szijjarto said on social media.
Moreover, Budapest is not ready to discuss the European Union's further financial and military support of Kiev until the Ukrainian National Agency on Corruption Prevention removes Hungarian banking group OTP Group from the list of "international sponsors of the war," where it was included in May due to alleged cooperation with the Russian military, the Hungarian prime minister said later in the day.
The initiative to allocate an additional 20 billion euros to Ukraine was voiced by EU foreign policy chief Josep Borrell in early July. The proposal suggests that the EU will not pay for Ukraine's weapons directly, but rather help member countries cover their expenses incurred in purchasing and donating their ammunition, missiles and tanks to Ukraine. The money will also be used to train Ukrainian soldiers. In general, the money will support the Ukrainian military for the next four years.
Western allies began pouring weapons and ammunition into Ukraine shortly after Russia launched its military operation in February 2022. However, Budapest has consistently opposed weapons supplies to Kiev. In March 2022, the Hungarian parliament issued a decree banning arms supply to Ukraine from the country's territory. Szijjarto said Budapest was seeking to secure the territory of Transcarpathia, where ethnic Hungarians live, since arms supply through its territory would become a legitimate military target.
Hungary has nonetheless provided certain funds to support Ukraine under the European Peace Facility, which was established by the bloc in March 2021 to strengthen international security. The total budget of the mechanism is around 5.7 euros billion for the period 2021-2027, with Hungary's share in it accounting for nearly 10 million euros.
In June, Szijjarto decided to reaffirm a month-long veto on 500 million euros tranche to Ukraine under the European Peace Facility until OTP Bank is removed from Ukraine's list of the "international sponsors of the war."
