Allegations of armoured vehicle supply to Ukraine false, says official

Budapest, August 21 (MTI) – Allegations that Hungary supplied armoured vehicles to Ukraine have been false and it was verified at a joint session of two parliamentary committees on Thursday, a senior committee official said.

Last week’s report by Hungarian news website hidfo.net on Hungary’s alleged supply of armoured vehicles including T-72 tanks to Ukraine came up at the joint meeting of the foreign affairs and national security committees that focused on the crisis in Ukraine, Szilard Nemeth, the deputy head of the national security committee, representing the ruling Fidesz party, told reporters.

“I regard this whole T-72 tanks issue as nothing else but a by-product of a heated election campaign surrounding the upcoming local elections in October,” he said.

Nemeth insisted that it could be verified on basis of registry numbers that Hungarian armoured vehicles had not been exported.

Marta Demeter, an opposition Socialist member of the foreign affairs committee, said the government should have denied the allegations much earlier.

She said the opposition Socialists received satisfactory answers to most of their questions regarding reports in the press, but want to keep the issue on the agenda to clarify all details.

The Foreign Ministry last Friday resolutely denied reports about Hungary supplying military technology to Ukraine. The Hungarian armed forces have been transporting military vehicles and equipment from one of its warehouse bases to another by train. These consignments have not crossed Hungary’s border and the transport is not linked to events in Ukraine but to an ongoing reform of the armed forces’ logistics supply system, a statement sent to MTI showed.

Source: http://mtva.hu/hu/hungary-matters