Zelenskiy to Orbán: “You have to decide for yourself who you are with” – UPDATED
President Volodymyr Zelenskiy addressed European Council members a couple of hours before. During his speech, he harshly criticised European leaders and particularly Hungarian PM Viktor Orbán. He said that Orbán has to decide who he is with because a neutral standpoint in this conflict is untenable. He also highlighted that he wanted to defeat Ukraine.
According to BBC, Zelenskiy “went through a detailed rollcall of European Council members, noting their level of support – or lack thereof – for Ukraine so far.” He praised the support of Poland, Estonia, the Czech Republic, Italy. To French President Emanuel Macron, he said he believes he will stand for Ukrainians. Addressing Sweden, he referred to their similar flag colours. “Yellow and blue should always stand together.”
Meanwhile, he chose to hammer some nations, including Germany, Portugal, and Ireland. Zelenskiy criticised them for being late or reluctant to take measures. Moreover, he lambasted Hungary for its neutral stance.
“I want to stop here and be honest. Once and for all. You have to decide for yourself who you are with,”
he said. BBC added that Hungarian leader Viktor Orbán had long been a close ally of Russia’s Vladimir Putin.
Zelenskiy then called on Hungary to stop hesitating on sanctions and letting weapons through, referring to the famous Shoes on the Danube Bank memorial in Budapest – a monument to the victims of massacres by fascist, pro-Nazi forces in World War Two, blikk said.
“Look at those shoes. And you will see how mass killings can happen again in today’s world. And that’s what Russia is doing today,”
Zelenskiy said.
Volodymyr Zelenskiy reiterated two well-known demands at the latest EU summit: Hungary should allow lethal aid to cross its territory, and it should stop buying natural gas and crude oil from Russia, Foreign Minister Péter Szijjártó said on Friday, adding that the government was resolute that Hungary will stay out of the war.
No weapons shipments will be allowed to cross the country, and the Hungarian people will not pay the cost of war,
the minister said on Facebook.
“We understand that for the Ukrainian president, the Ukrainian people are what is most important. But for us, the security of Hungary and the Hungarian people are what is most important. We are doing everything to ensure that Hungary stays out of the war.” The transit of weapons carried the risk of turning Hungary into a military target, and “we refuse to risk Hungarian people’s lives and security,” he added.
The minister said boycotting Russian natural gas and crude oil shipments would eat up Hungary’s energy supply, resulting in a drastic increase in utility costs, and he noted the Hungarian government’s continued opposition to broadening sanctions to include energy.
“We must stay out of this war,”
Szijjártó said.
Source: BBC, Blikk