Hungary's position on war in Ukraine remains unchanged: Orban

BELGRADE, Serbia

Hungarian Prime Minister Viktor Orban said on Thursday that his country's position on the war in Ukraine remains unchanged.

Orban said that on Wednesday evening and Thursday morning that Hungary and European Union held long, difficult negotiations on whether the block should support Ukraine with funds.

“We received an offer last night and this morning and we finally negotiated a control mechanism that guarantees reasonable use of the money. We received a guarantee that Hungary's funds cannot go to Ukraine,” said Orban.

Hungary opposed financial aid to Ukraine on the grounds that the EU budget should support the member states, that there is serious corruption in Ukraine, and that the West's support in the war has not yielded results.

“Hungary’s funds will not end up in Ukraine and we have a control mechanism at the end of the first and the second year. Our position on the war in Ukraine remains unchanged: we need a cease-fire and peace talks,” said Orban.

EU leaders on Thursday agreed on an additional support package for Ukraine within the EU budget.

In December, the leaders could not agree on a €50 billion package ($54.4 billion) of financial aid for Kyiv due to opposition from Hungary.