BUDAPEST, February 29. /TASS/. The government of Hungary refused to transfer $18 billion to the European Peace Facility, opting to spend them on upholding security and stability in Chad, Hungarian Foreign Minister Peter Szijjarto said at the press conference after the meeting with his counterpart from Chad Saleh Annadif.

He noted that Hungary advocates peaceful settlement of the conflict in Ukraine and therefore "did not agree to send approximately $18 million to the European Peace Facility, which could have been used to pay for weapons, already sent to Ukraine."

"We decided to use these $18 million to strengthen the security in Chad, to create a new educational facility for training of army officers in Chad, and to improve capabilities of the Chadian Armed Forces," Szijjarto said. He noted that Hungary carries out a wide program on provision of economic and social aid to this African country.

Previously, Hungary said that it will note veto the enlargement of the European Peace Facility, which funds procurements of weapons for Ukraine, but will not participate in the facility itself. The EU External Action Service proposed to increase this fund by 5 billion euros in 2024, in order to expand the arms shipments to the Ukrainian army. Szijjarto pointed out that shipping weapons is a red line for Hungary.

In this regard, Budapest announced that it will not contribute to the enlargement of the fund, but is ready to provide this sum for Ukraine to provide aid it sees fir. During the February 1 summit in Brussels, the EU leaders were unable to pass a decision on the expansion of the European Peace Facility by 5 billion euros, as was insisted by European Commission President Ursula von der Leyen and EU High Representative Josep Borrell. This discussion was postponed until March.

The European Peace Facility was established in 2021 to fund EU’s efforts in defense and security, including its peacekeeping operations. However, after the beginning of the conflict in Ukraine, the EU started using it to compensate its expenses for arms shipments to the Ukrainian army.