COPENHAGEN, Denmark – Hungary’s signature is missing from a European statement condemning this week’s Russian strikes on Ukraine.
The large-scale Russian attack, coming a day before a meeting of European Union foreign and defence ministers in Copenhagen, severely damaged the bloac’s own delegation in Kyiv and the British Council’s offices, among other civilian buildings.
The EU’s top diplomat, Kaja Kallas, on Friday issued a statement condemning what she called “deliberate escalation” and warning that such assaults amount to war crimes.
According to the final text, Wednesday’s attack on Kyiv and other Ukrainian cities killed at least 23 civilians and injured many more.
Twenty-six EU member states signed the declaration condemning Russia. One did not: Hungary.
According to several EU diplomats, Hungary objected to the language demanding that “Russia must stop the killing and show a genuine interest in peace”.
Euractiv contacted the Hungarian government for comment.
Budapest has long played a spoiler in EU statements relating to Russia’s conduct of the war in Ukraine, often softening wording or blocking consensus altogether.
Hungary’s Prime Minister Viktor Orbán has cultivated closer ties with Russia than any other EU leader, citing energy security and the need for “dialogue”.
Friday’s EU26 statement pledged to increase support for Ukraine and accelerate work on the bloc’s 19th sanctions package, with which the EU hopes to ramp up pressure on Moscow to end the war.
Hungary’s latest refusal to sign highlights the EU’s longstanding difficulty in reaching consensus on foreign policy topics, an issue likely to feature in discussions this Saturday between EU foreign ministers on the bloc’s working methods.
(vc)
