Hungarian Minister of Foreign Affairs and Trade Peter Szijjarto has announced that Budapest plans to invest this money in «creating conditions to improve the capabilities of the Chadian Armed Forces.»
Allocation of Funds to Chad Instead of Ukraine
Hungary has decided that the country will not provide $18 million for weapons to neighboring Ukraine, but rather allocate these funds to the Armed Forces of the African country of Chad. This was stated by the Hungarian Minister of Foreign Affairs and Trade during a press conference.
«It was decided to use the allocated $18 million to strengthen security in Chad, to establish a new training institution in Chad to prepare army officers, as well as to improve the capabilities of the Chadian Armed Forces,» said the Hungarian official.
In Budapest, they decided to withhold the allocation of funds to Ukraine, as they could have been used to pay for weapons for Ukraine, explained the head of the Hungarian Ministry of Foreign Affairs.
According to him, the Hungarian government somehow advocates for a peaceful resolution of the conflict in Ukraine, so the money will be directed towards supporting security and stability in Chad.
Hungary’s Position on EU Accession
It is worth noting that Peter Szijjarto stated that Hungary, which will assume the rotating presidency of the European Union Council from July 1, will lobby for the accession of Georgia and Moldova to the EU, but will not do this for Ukraine. According to him, accession negotiations will focus on the «real indicators» of candidate countries, rather than «political pressure.»
It should be noted that a Member of the European Parliament has initiated a petition to strip Hungary of its voting rights in the EU Council. This petition was supported by 120 MEPs from different political groups and several member states.
