The News in Brief
Friday, April 8, 2022
Prepared by the Messenger Staff
Ukrainian FM to Hungarian PM Orban: Being on the Right Side of History is Never Too Late
Ukraine has rebuked Hungary for its stance on Russian energy supplies, saying it was ‘damaging’ the EU's unity and undermining Western efforts to end the war.
“The refusal of the Hungarian leadership to acknowledge Russia's indisputable responsibility for the atrocities committed by the Russian army in Bucha, Irpen and Gostomel and other cities means a strengthening of Russia's sense of impunity and incitement to further atrocities against Ukrainians,” the Ukrainian Foreign Ministry spokesman said on April 7.
Hungarian Prime Minister Viktor Orban condemned Russia's invasion of Ukraine and did not veto EU sanctions on Russia, but said he did not agree with them. He refrained from criticizing Putin and rejected the idea of restricting oil and gas imports, saying it would destroy the Hungarian economy.
Such a position helped him re-elect his party to the Hungarians and win a convincing victory in last week's election. On April 7, Hungary said it was receiving nuclear fuel for nuclear reactors from Russia by air because it was impossible to do so via Ukraine.
The spokesman of the Ministry of Foreign Affairs of Ukraine, Oleg Nikolenko, said that now that the election was over, Budapest was taking the next step in ‘assisting Putin in continuing his aggression against Ukraine’.
He said that taking a different position from the EU and accepting Moscow's request for gas supplies in rubles was a sign that Budapest was undermining sanctions against Russia and raised the question of why Hungary wants to hold peace talks.
“If Hungary really wants to help end the war, here is what it must do: stop the disintegration of EU unity, support new sanctions against Russia, provide military assistance to Ukraine, and do not create additional sources of financial assistance for the Russian military machine,” Nikolenko commented.
Ukrainian FM to Hungarian PM Orban: Being on the Right Side of History is Never Too Late
Ukraine has rebuked Hungary for its stance on Russian energy supplies, saying it was ‘damaging’ the EU's unity and undermining Western efforts to end the war.
“The refusal of the Hungarian leadership to acknowledge Russia's indisputable responsibility for the atrocities committed by the Russian army in Bucha, Irpen and Gostomel and other cities means a strengthening of Russia's sense of impunity and incitement to further atrocities against Ukrainians,” the Ukrainian Foreign Ministry spokesman said on April 7.
Hungarian Prime Minister Viktor Orban condemned Russia's invasion of Ukraine and did not veto EU sanctions on Russia, but said he did not agree with them. He refrained from criticizing Putin and rejected the idea of restricting oil and gas imports, saying it would destroy the Hungarian economy.
Such a position helped him re-elect his party to the Hungarians and win a convincing victory in last week's election. On April 7, Hungary said it was receiving nuclear fuel for nuclear reactors from Russia by air because it was impossible to do so via Ukraine.
The spokesman of the Ministry of Foreign Affairs of Ukraine, Oleg Nikolenko, said that now that the election was over, Budapest was taking the next step in ‘assisting Putin in continuing his aggression against Ukraine’.
He said that taking a different position from the EU and accepting Moscow's request for gas supplies in rubles was a sign that Budapest was undermining sanctions against Russia and raised the question of why Hungary wants to hold peace talks.
“If Hungary really wants to help end the war, here is what it must do: stop the disintegration of EU unity, support new sanctions against Russia, provide military assistance to Ukraine, and do not create additional sources of financial assistance for the Russian military machine,” Nikolenko commented.