Current:Home > MarketsHungary’s foreign minister hints that Budapest will continue blocking EU military aid to Ukraine -Nova Finance Academy
Hungary’s foreign minister hints that Budapest will continue blocking EU military aid to Ukraine
View
Date:2025-04-17 09:25:25
BUDAPEST, Hungary (AP) — Hungary’s foreign minister on Wednesday said that his government wants guarantees from Kyiv that a Hungarian bank, recently removed from a Ukrainian list of sponsors of Russia’s war, will not be placed back on that list in the future — a sign that Budapest may not be ready to lift its veto of a major military aid package to Ukraine.
Foreign Minister Peter Szijjarto said that a Monday decision by the Ukrainian National Agency of Corruption Prevention to remove OTP Bank from the list was a “step in the right direction,” but that Hungary required further assurances before it would change its approach to Ukraine in any international settings.
Hungary’s Foreign Ministry has invited Ukraine’s anti-corruption agency to come to Budapest “as soon as possible” to discuss the listing of OTP, Szijjarto said, “so that we can negotiate an agreement that guarantees that no such decision will be taken (again) in the future.”
“If a reassuring agreement is reached there, then we will of course have to consider what steps this justifies on our part,” Szijjarto told a news conference.
Ukraine added OTP to its list of sponsors of the war in May in response to the financial institution continuing its operations in Russia – and thus paying taxes to the central government – after Moscow launched its full-scale invasion of Ukraine in February 2022.
In response, Hungary has blocked an EU military aid package to Kyiv worth 500 million euros since May, vowing it would not withdraw its veto until OTP was removed from the list.
Last week, Ukraine’s anti-corruption agency temporarily removed the bank from the list in the hopes that Budapest would lift its veto of the funding. But Hungarian officials signaled that the temporary removal was not enough, and the agency fully removed the bank from the list on Monday.
Hungary’s Foreign Ministry did not respond to emailed questions about whether Szijjarto’s comments indicated that Hungary would continue blocking the EU aid package despite OTP being taken off the war sponsors list.
The Hungarian government, led by nationalist Prime Minister Viktor Orbán, has sparred with Kyiv over a number of issues since Russia’s full-scale invasion began.
Orbán, who has maintained ties with Russian President Vladimir Putin, has argued against supplying Ukraine with weapons and refused to allow Hungary to do so, and has fervently argued against imposing EU sanctions on Moscow, though he has never ultimately voted against them.
Last week, Orbán cast doubt on the prospect of the EU beginning negotiations any time soon for Ukraine to join the bloc, saying it was unrealistic to launch the accession process with a country that’s at war. He told the Hungarian parliament last week that his government would “not support Ukraine on any international issue” until the language rights of a Hungarian minority in western Ukraine are restored.
On Wednesday, Szijjarto said that Hungary also expects Ukraine to remove OTP’s Russian branch and four of its Hungarian executives from a list of entities submitted for sanctions.
veryGood! (4)
Related
- Meta donates $1 million to Trump’s inauguration fund
- How to watch 2023 NWSL championship: Megan Rapinoe and Ali Krieger face off in farewell
- Suspected Islamic extremists holding about 30 ethnic Dogon men hostage after bus raid, leader says
- U.S. veterans use art to help female Afghan soldiers who fled their country process their pain
- Former longtime South Carolina congressman John Spratt dies at 82
- NFL MVP surprise? Tyreek Hill could pull unique feat – but don't count on him outracing QBs
- Ranking all 32 NFL teams from most to least entertaining: Who's fun at midseason?
- National Guard members fight to have injuries recognized and covered: Nobody's listening
- Intellectuals vs. The Internet
- Body of South Dakota native who’s been missing for 30 years identified in Colorado
Ranking
- Paula Abdul settles lawsuit with former 'So You Think You Can Dance' co
- Moschino Creative Director Davide Renne Dead at 46 Just 9 Days After Stepping Into Role
- Washington Public Lands Commissioner Hilary Franz drops out of governor’s race to run for Congress
- Tyler Perry discusses new documentary on his life, Maxine's Baby, and SAG-AFTRA strike
- San Francisco names street for Associated Press photographer who captured the iconic Iwo Jima photo
- Kansas City to hire 2 overdose investigators in face of rising fentanyl deaths
- ‘From the river to the sea': Why these 6 words spark fury and passion over the Israel-Hamas war
- DOC NYC documentary film festival returns, both in-person and streaming
Recommendation
'Kraven the Hunter' spoilers! Let's dig into that twisty ending, supervillain reveal
David and Victoria Beckham and how to (maybe) tell if your partner is in love with you
Why Taylor Swift Is Canceling Argentina Eras Tour Concert
A Hawaii refuge pond has turned eye-catching pink and scientists think they know why
Travis Hunter, the 2
Croatia’s defense minister is badly injured in a car crash in which 1 person died
Florida deputies struck intentionally by man driving car recovering after surgeries, sheriff says
Yellen says her talks with Chinese finance chief laid groundwork for Biden’s meeting with Xi