Hungary dissents from EU move to allocate 5 bln euros in military aid to Kiev — FM

Hungary is opposed to providing Ukraine with 5 bln euros in military aid from the European Peace Facility (EPF), an off-budget European Union (EU) funding mechanism, over the next few years, and is expecting "fierce debates" on the matter at the upcoming Brussels summit of EU leaders on February 1, Hungarian Foreign Minister Peter Szijjarto said en route to a meeting with his EU colleagues in the Belgian capital.

"This is the first time this year that the EU Foreign Affairs Council is meeting. There are, of course, two major security challenges on the agenda that threaten our continent: the war in Ukraine and the conflict in the Middle East. There will be fierce debates, as unfortunately the pro-war party in Brussels still suggests that we commit ourselves to supplying weapons to Ukraine for many years to come, so far for 5 bln (!) euros," the foreign minister wrote on his page on Facebook (banned in Russia due to its ownership by Meta, a designated extremist organization).

Budapest earlier stated that it would not support the allocation of yet another tranche of military aid to Ukraine in the sum of 500 mln euros from the EPF as long as the current situation surrounding top Hungarian lender OTP Bank remains unresolved.