Hungary to direct its share of peace fund to Lebanon's army, not Ukraine's, Szijjarto says
Photo: Hungary’s foreign minister Péter Szijjártó (flickr.com photos)
Hungary will direct its €1.5 million share of the European Peace Facility to support Lebanon’s army rather than Ukraine’s Armed Forces.
The announcement was made by Hungarian foreign minister Péter Szijjártó, according to his post on X.
The Hungarian foreign minister wrote that he told Lebanon’s foreign minister, Youssef Raghi, the following:
"It is in Hungary’s national security interest to see peace in the Middle East, and Lebanon’s stability is key to this. We will not use our share of the European Peace Facility to arm Ukraine. Instead, we are redirecting €1.5 million to support Lebanon’s armed forces," Szijjártó said in a caption to the photo with Raghi.
Szijjártó made a similar announcement back in February. At that time, Budapest said it would support Lebanon’s army with €991,500 "instead of sending weapons to Ukraine."
Hungary–Ukraine relations
Recently, Hungary’s government said it would no longer provide funding to Ukraine, allegedly due to a new corruption scandal in the energy sector, a claim made by Prime Minister Viktor Orbán.
"Thank you, but we want no part of this. We will not send the Hungarian people’s money to Ukraine. After all this, we certainly will not bow to financial demands and blackmail from the Ukrainian president. Brussels should have figured out long ago where its money is actually going," he said.
Hungary’s relations with Ukraine remain tense. Budapest has repeatedly blocked anti-Russian initiatives in European institutions as well as Ukraine’s EU accession process. Hungary also refuses to abandon Russian energy imports, which continue to fuel the aggressor’s economy.
In September, President Volodymyr Zelenskyy said Hungary’s stance on blocking Ukraine’s EU path is puzzling, noting that even Russia is no longer openly opposing it.
