Prime Minister Viktor Orbán said that for all its efforts in support of Ukraine, Hungary “deserves appreciation and gratitude rather than offensive and lecturing remarks”.
In an open letter, the prime minister said the Hungarian government protects religious freedoms, so it will never support sanctions against church leaders or isolate them from members of their church, adding that peace could not be achieved without the active participation of churches. PM Orbán also said the Hungarian government had done everything to support the six sanctions packages approved so far in the interest of European unity. Hungary backed the sanctions even though it became increasingly difficult to maintain the earlier consensus that the sanctions should not hurt the EU more than they hurt Russia, he said.
PM Orbán noted that the European Council takes unanimous decisions under the bloc’s basic treaty, so there a decision cannot be made without consensus. It would therefore be wrong to refer to a veto. PM Orbán said that in the interest of Europe he reserved Hungary’s right to fight proposals that went against common sense and threatened the impoverishment of Hungarian and European families. The prime minister said he was certain that he would find “more and more partners” among his letter’s recipients in this endeavour. This is not only in the interest of Hungary but in Europe’s interest, too, he said.
Photo credit: MTI