Jens Asbjørn Bøgen
On some questions, Hungary will help Ukraine, but some things will not change following the change in leadership.
Following his landslide victory in the Hungarian election, the incoming Hungarian Prime Minister, Peter Magyar, held a three-hour press conference on Monday, taking questions from the international press.
Unsurprisingly, he took several swings at his predecessor, the Kremlin-friendly Viktor Orbán, who was in control of Hungary for 16 years.
Magyar said that Hungary had been governed by a “syndicate, where criminals were in collusion with financial criminals, the media, and the financial elite.”
He also promised to make it impossible for Viktor Orbán to ever be Hungary’s prime minister again.
Yes, the winds of change are blowing over Hungary, but what does a more pro-European, anti-Russian prime minister mean for European support for Ukraine?
Won’t block loan
According to Ukrainska Pravda, Magyar indicated at the press conference that Hungary will no longer block the vital €90 billion loan from the EU to Ukraine, which had been blocked by Orbán.
Magyar noted that the agreement on the loan was for Hungary not to be part of it, so he questioned why it was still an issue.
“Hungary, Czechia, and Slovakia are not taking part in the €90 billion loan, so it does not concern our country. That is how it was approved,” Magyar said.
“Ukraine is the victim”
In a clear break from Orbán’s pro-Kremlin stance, Magyar also said that “no one has the right to tell a country to give up its territory. Everyone knows Ukraine is the victim in this war,” Danish TV 2 reported live during the press conference.
Russia has repeatedly demanded that Ukraine withdraw from the Donbas region in eastern Ukraine if a peace deal is to be agreed upon — a demand denied by Kyiv as many times as Russia has made it.
Magyar also spoke about unity in Europe and made it very clear that Russia is seen as a security risk in the eyes of the new Hungarian government.
No EU membership for the foreseeable future
But it was not all good news for Ukraine.
Kyiv is in the process of seeking membership of the European Union, but for a country to become part of the Union, all existing members must support it.
And that will not happen anytime soon, Magyar said according to Reuters.
According to Danish TV 2, he emphasized that he understands the moral questions, but that it is completely “out of the question” to admit a country at war.
So the takeaway from the press conference for Kyiv seems to be that some things will improve, but that the trees do not grow into heaven.
Sources: BBC, Reuters, CNN, Danish TV 2, Ukrainska Pravda
