FM Szijjártó: Ukraine makes it hard for Hungary to accept sanctions

It is “scandalous” that Ukraine has placed OTP Bank on its list of “international sponsors of war”, Foreign Minister Péter Szijjártó said in Stockholm on Friday, adding that until that is withdrawn, it will be “very difficult” for the Hungarian government to negotiate about further sanctions.

It is “outrageous” that while Hungary is participating in the programme under which the European Union supports Ukraine with one and a half billion euros per month, the Ukrainian anti-corruption agency has placed the OTP Group on its list of “international sponsors of war” because the financial institution is still present in Russia, the foreign ministry cited Szijjártó as saying, in a statement.

“OTP is Hungary’s biggest bank. OTP has not violated any international laws. Its operations fully comply with all kinds of expectations and legislation. Placing it on the list of international sponsors of war is unacceptable and scandalous,” the minister said on the sidelines of an informal meeting of European Union foreign ministers.

“Therefore I made it clear today that as long as OTP stays on this list, it will be very difficult for us to even enter into negotiations on the eleventh sanctions package, it will be very difficult for us to negotiate economic restrictions that require additional sacrifices,” Szijjártó said.

Szijjártó: Hungary committed to pro-peace stance despite EU’s ‘atmosphere of war’

Hungary is committed to its pro-peace stance even though the European Union remains dominated by an “atmosphere of war” and most member states want to continue providing military support to Ukraine, Szijjártó said in Stockholm on Friday.

Everyone is of the view that European weapons deliveries are having a positive effect on the war, which is why many argue for supplying even more weapons, Szijjártó said during a break in an informal meeting of European Union foreign ministers, according to a ministry statement.

These member states say Ukraine must be given all the support it needs for as long as it needs it, “and unfortunately, this applies primarily to military support”, the minister said.

But Hungary’s position remains clear, he said, emphasising that “we want peace as soon as possible, because every minute this war continues costs more and more lives and poses a very serious threat of escalation.”

An immediate ceasefire and peace talks are needed, followed by a diplomatic settlement that can guarantee long-term peace and security in central Europe and on the entire continent, Szijjártó said.

Meanwhile, he pointed out that under new Ukrainian laws, Hungarian-language schools in the country would no longer be able to operate from September.

“This is an unacceptable situation,” he said, arguing that the ethnic Hungarian community in Ukraine had already had their rights “seriously infringed”, but “this would be such an unprecedented infringement that calls for a European reaction”.

“Of course, the European foreign ministers don’t really want to acknowledge the situation,” Szijjártó said. “They pretend that it doesn’t exist, that they don’t hear about it, even though they hear about it all the time because we constantly say it.”

The minister said he believed it would be “very hard” to expect further support or sacrifices from Hungary’s part in connection with the war while ethnic Hungarian schools faced closure.

Szijjártó asked the EU’s high representative for foreign affairs and security policy to try to convince Kyiv in the time remaining to withdraw the decree in question.

He noted that Ukraine’s deputy prime minister had made a promise at a recent EU Foreign Affairs Council meeting that they would soon meet to discuss possible solutions to the situation, “but this has yet to happen”.