BUDAPEST, January 12. /TASS/. The United States will not allocate funds to Ukraine, leaving the European Union to meet Kiev’s request for $800 billion over 10 years, Hungarian Minister of Foreign Affairs and Trade Peter Szijjarto said, stressing that Hungary has no intention of financing the Kiev authorities.
"US President Donald Trump has made it clear that America comes first and that American voters’ money will not be handed out for free. It is therefore obvious that Brussels, guided by its military policy, wants to channel this $800 billion to Ukraine," the foreign minister said at a press conference following a meeting with Remigijus Zemaitaitis, leader of the Lithuanian right-wing party Dawn of Nemunas.
Szijjarto emphasized that as long as the current government remains in power, "the Hungarian people’s money will not go to Ukraine." Otherwise, he said, Hungary would be forced to raise taxes, increase utility rates, and scrap a number of important social programs.
According to the Ukrainian authorities’ plans, a $800 billion "global package" of aid for the country’s recovery over a 10-year period is meant to be part of their so-called peace plan. The proposal was discussed on December 24 during talks in the US and later in consultations with Western European leaders. Hungary considers the initiative untenable, arguing that Ukraine will never repay the funds and that future generations of Europeans would have to shoulder the burden for many years.