We expect plenty of pressure at the informal ministerial meeting on EU foreign affairs in Toledo, but the Hungarian government will not give in on the issue of financing weapon deliveries until its conditions are met, Minister of Foreign Affairs and Trade Peter Szijjarto said in Budapest on Thursday morning, according to a statement released by Hungary's state news agency (MTI).
Before leaving for his meeting in Spain, FM Szijjarto underlined that Josep Borrell, the EU's high representative for foreign affairs and security policy had indicated that he would like to hold a private discussion - possibly with the involvement of Ukrainian FM Dmitro Kuleba - on the possibility of Hungary contributing to the transfer of tens of billions of euros to Ukraine.
Of course, I will continue to resist this pressure today. Until we get a detailed, clear account of how the 50-70 billion euros sent over to Ukraine has been spent, and until Kyiv removes OTP Bank from its list of so-called international sponsors of war, any discussion regarding new decisions on sending more money to finance weapon deliveries - or anything else - for Ukraine is off limits,
− he said.
"It is unacceptable that, on the one hand, Hungary is being asked to send taxpayers' money to Ukraine, while on the other the country's largest financial institution, where three million people have accounts, stays on the list of international sponsors of war," FM Szijjarto underlined.
Everyone feels, everyone sees and everyone knows that it is nonsense, and until this nonsense is cleared up, we are not prepared to discuss any financial issues.
− he said.
FM Szijjarto expressed regret that, as expected, everyone will talk about the war when the topic goes on the agenda, and that he'll be the only one to talk about peace. "The voice of peace must be strengthened, because it's clear that with every day and every arms transfer the danger of escalation is growing," he warned.
"Every day that passes with war and every weapon delivered to Ukraine will cause more deaths, and we want to prevent that," he added.
Hungary's foreign minister said the recent military coup in Gabon will also be discussed at the meeting. He pointed out that this is the eighth such power grab in central and western Africa in three years.
"Each of these coups brings the risk of instability, and we know that when there is instability in an African country, in an African region, it is very easy to trigger new waves of migration," he said.
Therefore it is key that the European Union and Brussels should start speaking clearly, finally. Let's put the pro-migration policy behind us and finally make it clear that entry to Europe is only possible by legal means,
− he said.
"If Brussels continues its pro-migration policy, the pressure on the European continent will be so great that it will be very difficult to counter it, requiring special effort from those countries that protect the European Union's external frontiers," he said. He stressed that Hungary was one such country, and that so far this year, Hungarian authorities have prevented tens of thousands of illegal border crossing attempts, while the migrants are becoming increasingly violent.
We are doing everything we can to reduce the migratory pressure on Europe, to ensure that only legal immigrants can enter Hungary. We won't allow illegal migrants to enter, and I will continue to support the idea that the European Union must finally abandon its pro-migration policy.
− the foreign minister concluded.
Cover photo: Hungarian FM Peter Szijjarto arrives to attend the Hungary-Jordan Business Forum on July 4, 2023. (Photo: MTI/Robert Hegedus)
