Budapest against 'more weapons in Ukraine,' Hungarian foreign minister says.
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Become a member Support us just once"We do not want more weapons in Ukraine, we do not want more deaths, we do not want an escalation of the war," Hungarian Foreign Minister Peter Szijjarto wrote on Facebook on Aug.
29 after an informal meeting of EU foreign affairs ministers. Prior to the meeting, EU Foreign Affairs Chief Josep Borrell repeated his call for Ukraine's partners to lift restrictions on Ukraine's ability to strike targets inside Russia with Western-supplied weapons. The weaponry is "useless" if delivered with restrictions, Borrell argued.
"We do not want more weapons in Ukraine, we do not want more deaths, we do not want an escalation of the war," Szijjarto said in response. "Today, we continue to stand for common sense and peace," he added. "The dangerous run of the Chief Foreign Affairs Minister must be stopped." The meeting was attended by Ukrainian Foreign Minister Dmytro Kuleba, who said he welcomed the "readiness of member states to advocate for the lifting of restrictions on strikes on legitimate military targets in Russia."
According to Kuleba, the EU will speed up the delivery of weapons, as well as equipment for Ukraine's energy system. The meeting in Brussels came days after Russia's largest-ever aerial attack against Ukraine. While Ukraine downed 102 missiles and 99 drones of the 127 missiles and 109 drones launched by Russia during the attack, strikes hit several civilian, energy, and fuel facilities, killing seven people and injuring at least 47 others.
Hungary has been long considered the most Kremlin-friendly country within the EU, repeatedly obstructing sanctions against Russia and military aid to Kyiv. Szijjarto has visited Russia at least six times since February 2022.
Russian oil flow to Hungary, Slovakia stable in July despite Lukoil ban, Bloomberg reports Russian crude exports to Hungary and Slovakia remained within norms in July as the sanctioned Lukoil oil was offset by supplies from another Russian company, Tatneft, Bloomberg reported on Aug.
27, citing an undisclosed source.
