“From the very beginning, we have been speaking about the war next door clearly: we condemn military aggression, we stand by Ukraine’s sovereignty, we are letting hundreds of thousands of refugees fleeing for their lives into our country, and in the biggest humanitarian effort in the history of Hungary, we have been delivering hundreds of tons of food and other donations to Ukraine” – thus begins the Facebook post of Péter Szijjártó, head of Hungary’s Ministry of Foreign Affairs.
He added that he had summoned the Ukrainian ambassador, because in his opinion, it is high time for Ukraine’s leaders to stop insulting Hungary.
He writes that naturally, for the Hungarian government, the security of the Hungarian people is the number one priority, and that the war in Ukraine is not the Hungarian people’s war, they wish to stay out of it. “We are not willing to risk the peace and security of the Hungarian people, and this is why we are not sending weapons and will not approve the sanctions on Russian energy import.”
He added that Hungarians have made their opinion about this clear at the elections.
To remind: In the last few weeks, the government’s rhetoric was built around the statement that the left would send Hungarians to the war (which it wouldn’t, in reality), while the government favours peace and will defend the nation. “There is one thing, however, that we cannot leave without comment: nobody should allow themselves to criticize the Hungarian people’s democratically expressed decision! Statements about the establishment of totalitarian regimes, complicity in war and pity for the will of the Hungarian people are unacceptable! It is time for Ukraine’s leaders to stop insulting Hungary and to accept the will of the Hungarian people. In order to make this all perfectly clear, we have summoned Ukraine’s ambassador to the Ministry of Foreign Affairs this morning” – writes Szijjártó.
Prior to the elections, Ljubov Nepop, Ukraine’s ambassador to Hungary was a guest at ATV television and said that they are very thankful for all the humanitarian aid from Hungary, and this is indeed important. However, in a war, they also need weapons to fight the tanks. She said she has frequently heard a Hungarian saying according to which “a neighbour nearby can be more important than a distant relative” – commenting that they expect more from Hungary.
Nepop also said that she cannot understand why anyone thinks that they are trying to get Hungary involved in the war, as this is not true. The war was started by Putin, not Ukraine. And if Ukraine doesn’t fight, there will be no peace, Ukraine will be swallowed by Russia, and those tanks will end up at Hungary’s border.
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