'Big lie': Hungary's foreign minister rejects claim Ukraine protects Europe from Russia
Hungarian Foreign Minister Péter Szijjártó (photo: Getty Images)
Ukraine is not protecting Europe from Russia, and Ukraine's accession to the European Union could drag the bloc into war, Hungarian Foreign Minister Péter Szijjártó said in an interview with CNN.
"This is a big lie told by both Ukrainian leaders and European leaders. They say Ukraine is defending Europe. This is not true," the head of the Hungarian Foreign Ministry said.
He also noted that Russia has not attacked any member state of the European Union, and that the security of European countries, according to him, is ensured by the North Atlantic Treaty Organization (NATO), not Ukraine.
At the same time, Szijjártó said that Ukrainians are "fighting heroically," however, according to him, Russia's war against Ukraine "is not Hungary's war," therefore, Budapest supports a peaceful settlement through negotiations and maintains communication channels with Russia.
In addition, he emphasized that Hungarian authorities do not allow the use of their taxpayers' funds to assist Ukraine.
Conflict between Ukraine and Hungary
Recently, Hungarian Prime Minister Viktor Orbán sharply criticized Ukraine's aspiration to join the European Union, stating that Budapest allegedly does not plan to support Kyiv's accession to the European Union for at least the next one hundred years.
In response, President of Ukraine Volodymyr Zelenskyy stressed that forces attempting to weaken or undermine the European Union operate constantly, including inside Europe itself. The position of head of state was also supported by the Minister of Foreign Affairs of Ukraine, Andrii Sybiha, who publicly criticized the statements of the Hungarian prime minister.
In addition, Orbán previously said that it is unclear who attacked whom in the war between Ukraine and Russia. Such a position was voiced against the background of European Union decisions on further financing of support for Ukraine.
Days ago, during a speech at a panel discussion at the Munich Security Conference, Zelenskyy said that Orbán is thinking about how to grow his belly rather than how to build up an army.
