The opposition alliance's candidate for prime minister, Péter Márki-Zay, called PM Orbán a "mercenary and servant" of Russian President Putin and said he was partly to blame for the situation in Ukraine.Continue reading
The government considers the lives and security of Hungarians — including Transcarpathian Hungarians — the most important consideration when it comes the war in Ukraine, Prime Minister Viktor Orbán said in a video message on Facebook on Wednesday.
“We cannot and will not make any decisions that would turn Hungarian settlements or people — whether they be Hungarians living in Transcarpathia or Ukrainians — into targets,” Orbán said in the video posted after a cabinet meeting.
At the meeting, members of the government reaffirmed their position that Hungary will send neither troops nor weapons to Ukraine. “We reaffirmed that Hungary will not even allow weapons to transit its territory to Ukraine,” the prime minister said.
“The most important thing is for Hungary to stay out of this war,” he said.
Orbán added, however, that “Ukraine is our friend; they’re in trouble and those in trouble must be helped.”
“We’ve launched one of the largest humanitarian campaigns in Hungary’s history,” he said. “As a first step, we’re sending 600 million forints’ (EUR 1.6m) worth of food, hygiene supplies and baby care products.”
featured image via MTI/PM’s Press Office/Vivien Cher Benko