BUDAPEST, March 7. /TASS/. Hungarian Prime Minister Viktor Orban criticized EU leaders for their irresponsible attempts to keep the flow of military support for Ukraine.
Hungary refused to endorse a declaration of support for Kiev at an emergency meeting in Brussels on Thursday, mostly because more Ukraine aid would run counter to Budapest’s push for resolving the conflict peacefully, Orban explained. Besides, Hungary believes, the conflict cannot be resolved on the battlefield and Ukraine will not be able to win.
"With the war now in its fourth year and Russia winning [over Ukraine], while the United States has stepped aside, what chances do the remaining countries stand?" Orban asked rhetorically in a morning program on Kossuth Radio. "Twenty-six countries had no reason to issue that statement. If they chose to continue the war, all our remaining funds will be spent on that," the Hungarian head of government warned.
The Brussels summit showed that, further down the road, "the Europeans would like to sponsor the Ukrainian army." "Secondly, Ukraine is not functioning as a state, therefore they will have to finance not only the Ukrainian army but also the Ukrainian government," the premier continued. "Our armies are weak, we don’t have enough weapons, and Europe should grow stronger," Orban argued.
Commenting on Ukraine’s potential accession to the EU, he said that, too, would inflict heavy costs on the bloc which would simply not have enough money for all that put together. Therefore, "Europe, and maybe even America, lacks the money" to mobilize more support for Ukraine, Orban concluded.
At the summit on Thursday, Hungary refused to sign on to the EU’s statement on Ukraine. The summit’s conclusions were published as a text that was approved by the other 26 members of the bloc and will be discussed again at another summit on March 20-21. In the statement, the 26 EU leaders pledged further aid to Ukraine, including military support, and more efforts to put pressure on Russia, including through sanctions.