The foreign minister said the Hungarian government does not back a proposal for the European Union to start a training mission for the Ukrainian army as this would risk escalating the war.
Péter Szijjártó, Minister of Foreign Affairs and Trade, lawfully made himself absent from the vote, the only EU member state representative to do so. The minister noted that his absence had not prevented the proposal from being approved, adding that Hungary did not want to contribute to the costs of the operation. “Anything leading to escalation is not something we think is a good idea,” he said during a break from the meeting of EU foreign ministers, adding that central Europe risked being dragged into the conflict as a result. The question of whether shipments or troops linked to the mission may transit Hungarian territory will always be decided on an individual basis, he said.
Minister Szijjártó noted that for the sixth time, the bloc is regrouping 500 million euros from a European peace fund to partially finance arms shipments to Ukraine. “Hungary has also contributed to this funding, but … I cannot guarantee that this will be the case next time,” he said, adding that since the fund also financed various important missions connected with challenges from the south, a lack of money for such purposes could be deeply problematic.