Hungary has no plans to send weapons, soldiers to Ukraine — future foreign minister

BUDAPEST, May 11. /TASS/. Hungary’s new government will not send weapons or soldiers to Ukraine and will not participate in the €90 billion EU loan to Kiev, Foreign Minister candidate Anita Orban stated at a parliamentary hearing. She confirmed the new government maintains the same position as Viktor Orban’s previous administration: no weapons, no troops, and no to the €90 billion loan. Hungary will also not support accelerated EU accession for Ukraine, insisting it must be "based on merit and the fulfillment of strict conditions." Orban said Budapest will seek the return of rights for the Hungarian minority in Transcarpathia through "serious diplomatic work, not political games." On energy, she stressed that the new government considers it necessary to eliminate dependence on Russia but does not intend to abandon Russian oil and gas for now, seeking to use both the Druzhba pipeline and the Adriatic pipeline from Croatia under predictable, stable and reasonable terms. Anita Orban is scheduled to appear before two more parliamentary committees. Her approval is not in doubt, as Peter Magyar’s Tisza party holds 141 of 199 parliamentary mandates.