BUDAPEST, March 10. /TASS/. Hungarian Foreign Minister Peter Szijjarto said the EU will not be able to comply with Vladimir Zelensky’s request to support Ukraine's armed forces that number 1 million people.
He made the statement at a news conference following a meeting in Budapest with energy ministers from Azerbaijan, Bulgaria, Georgia and Romania.
"We still believe that the EU is simply not capable of supporting the Ukrainian military of 1 million people and allocating millions of dollars for the functioning of the Ukrainian state, especially at a time when its own competitiveness has been greatly diminished. It simply cannot be fathomed how the EU will be able to carry such a large financial burden. The EU simply cannot make this commitment," the minister said when asked about Kiev's aspirations to get additional military aid from Brussels.
Hungary's opposition to providing EU funds for bumping up the Ukrainian armed forces to 1 million servicemen was earlier stated by Prime Minister Viktor Orban. In a March 8 speech, he said that such a decision would cause irreparable damage to all member countries of the bloc.
"Ukraine is teetering on the verge of collapse, but the EU still wants to finance Operation Ukrainian Dream, so European funds help rearm the country’s army," the prime minister said.
On March 6, Hungary refused to support a joint statement on Ukraine at the EU summit in Brussels. It was published as a statement approved by the bloc’s other 26 members and will be discussed again at the next EU meeting scheduled for March 20 and 21. According to the document, the EU continues to stand ready to provide Ukraine with all types of assistance, including military aid, and will continue to put pressure on Russia, including through sanctions.