EU reacts to Hungary's refusal to back Ukraine statement
Photo: EC spokesperson for foreign policy Anitta Hipper (Getty Images)
The European Commission has stated that ahead of a series of international contacts this week, the EU's position on Ukraine remains unchanged and clear, The Guardian reports.
"We welcome the efforts of the President Trump to reach peace for Ukraine, a peace that is just and lasting and respects sovereignty and integrity [of Ukraine]," said Arianna Podestà, deputy chief spokesperson for the European Commission, at a briefing.
She specifies that the European Union is working with Kyiv to ensure that this position is taken into account during Friday's meeting.
Podestà also announces plans to coordinate actions with the US during a telephone conversation scheduled for tomorrow and organized by German Chancellor Friedrich Merz.
Separately, EC spokesperson for foreign policy Anitta Hipper commented on Hungary's refusal to sign a joint EU statement on Ukraine.
"It’s nothing new. Also, it’s nothing new that we need unity to be strong, and if we don’t have this unity, there’s only one party that will profit from this, and this is Russia," she stresses.
On the eve of the meeting between US President Donald Trump and Russia's Vladimir Putin in Alaska, 26 EU countries supported a joint statement in support of Ukraine, but Hungarian Prime Minister Viktor Orbán refused to sign it.
Orbán later explained why he did not sign the EU statement in support of Ukraine on the eve of the meeting between Donald Trump and Vladimir Putin.
He believes that instead of commenting on the negotiations between the US and Russia, EU leaders should initiate their summit with Russia.
