BUDAPEST, March 28. /TASS/. Hungary is seeking answers from the EU as to why it seems hell-bent on continuing the conflict in Ukraine and is preparing for war with Russia, said Hungarian Minister of Foreign Affairs and Foreign Economic Relations Peter Szijjarto in the wake of Brussels' call for the people of European states to prepare supplies of water, food and medicines to last 72 hours in the event of an armed conflict with Russia.
"But why, in the 21st century, should EU citizens prepare a survival kit? There’s only one explanation: Brussels is preparing for war," he said in a video address on his page on Facebook (prohibited in Russia, belongs to Meta Corporation, which Russia believes to be extremist).
"We are waiting for the European Commission to answer the question of why we now need to develop a 72-hour survival plan. Why does Brussels want to continue the war [in Ukraine] when peaceful aspirations have begun to take on a very encouraging character?"
Earlier, Hungarian Prime Minister Viktor Orban, commenting on Brussels' calls that citizens prepare three days worth of survival supplies, also said he is confident that Brussels is preparing for war.
Where’s the money, Brussels?
Szijjarto said that when he first heard about these recommendations from Brussels, he took them for "some kind of trolling or joke." However, it turned out that it was no joke. Hadja Lahbib, the European commissioner in charge of preparedness and crisis management, indeed presented the European Union's emergency strategy in case of conflicts and crises, which contains such recommendations.
"Since [US President] Donald Trump took office, the chances of a ceasefire and meaningful peace talks have been growing, but Brussels has consistently opposed these peace efforts, even though their main goal is for peace to return to Europe as soon as possible," the minister said.
He said that Russia "poses no threat to any member state of the European Union or NATO." "This is why, if Brussels is now calling on the peoples of Europe to make preparations for survival, it means that Brussels itself wants to expand military operations," Szijjarto said. He noted that the intentions to continue the conflict in Ukraine are visible from the meetings of the leaders of the EU countries, where decisions on military assistance to Kiev are regularly made.
"They know that this is the only way to avoid responsibility for three years of failed policy" towards Ukraine, the Foreign Minister believes. According to him, the EU leadership does not want to answer the extremely inconvenient question of what the money allocated to Ukraine was used for. "What happened to the money Kiev got from the pockets of European voters?" Szijjarto asked.
"We Hungarians continue to advocate peace and call on the European Commission, Brussels, not to hinder Donald Trump's peace efforts, but to support them," the minister said, adding that he "looks forward to receiving a response from the European Commission."