State Secretary Tristan Azbej said that while Hungary is aiding Ukrainian refugees, it will not back steps threatening to escalate the conflict or to end in “Hungarians’ money ending up elsewhere”.
Speaking after a meeting of the European Union’s Foreign Affairs Council in Brussels, the state secretary for aiding persecuted Christians said the meeting had allowed discussing issues “simultaneously important for Hungarian interests and generally for peace and stability”. Hungary had been the subject of “unfair attacks” over its solidarity with the Ukrainian people, he said. “The truth is that Hungary has opened its borders to more than one million Ukrainian refugees in the past two years, providing medical care, food, accommodation and education.” At the same time, Hungary will not support steps that would “support Ukraine in an uncontrolled and not transparent fashion,” he added. He said Hungary also condemned the terrorist attacks of Hamas, supported Israel’s right to self-defence and called for the freeing of all hostages. At the same time, Hungary is supporting the civilians in the conflict zone through the Latin Patriarchate of Jerusalem, he said. “We do not accept that the Brussels dialogue on human rights avoids the issue of religious freedom. We continue to stand by religious freedom in the EU, especially the freedom of persecuted Christians,” he said.