Kyiv says EU neighbor has changed course on arms deliveries — RT World News
Hungary no longer opposed to military aid passing through its territory, Ukrainian officials say
Hungary will no longer block the transit of foreign arms and other military aid destined for kyiv through its territory, Ukrainian media reported on Tuesday, citing the Lviv city council. The western Ukrainian city was visited by Hungarian Deputy Foreign Minister Magyar Levente, who reportedly communicated Budapest’s official change of position to the local mayor.
Hungary itself will not send arms to Ukraine, but « Third countries can use our territory », Levente was quoted as saying by authorities in Lviv. Budapest will also open its hospitals to Ukrainian military and civilian personnel, while offering 1,000 scholarships to Ukrainians at Hungarian universities, according to the report.
Earlier this month, Hungarian Foreign Minister Peter Szijarto insisted that his country would not allow the transit of arms through its territory, as this would endanger humanitarian aid deliveries and the safety of ethnic Hungarians living across the border.
» We do not want [Russians] shoot at areas where Hungarians live, that’s why we wouldn’t want to get involved in this conflict, » Szijarto told CNN on July 5.
He arrived in New York on Tuesday, where he is expected to attend a session of the UN Security Council. The Foreign Secretary has not posted anything about the policy change on his Facebook page, which he uses to communicate with the public. His most recent article referring to the situation in Ukraine on Monday criticized the EU for focusing on sanctions instead of trying to make peace.
Zoltan Kovacs, spokesman for Hungarian Prime Minister Viktor Orban, also did not publish anything on the authorization of arms transfers through Hungarian territory.
According to the Lviv City Council, Levente told Mayor Andrey Sadovoy that Hungary sympathized with Ukraine because it was at war. « to death » with Russia three times in the past 200 years – likely a reference to the two World Wars as well as the 1848 revolt against the Habsburg crown, which Russia helped crush as part of the engagement of the Holy Alliance towards Austria.
kyiv has repeatedly criticized Budapest for its insufficient support for the Ukrainian cause. Meanwhile, Orban argued that EU sanctions against Russia were destroying the bloc’s own economy rather than harming Moscow, while the speaker of the Hungarian parliament claimed that Ukrainian President Vladimir Zelensky had a « mental problem » because he walked around threatening the countries he needed help from.
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