Hungary has decided that its contribution of 1.5 million euros to the European Peace Mechanism – a fund the EU uses to support countries in conflict – will go not to Ukraine, but to the Lebanese Armed Forces. This information was confirmed by Hungarian Foreign Minister Peter Szijjártó, after a meeting in Beirut with Lebanese Foreign Minister Youssef Raji, on Friday (11/14).
In a message posted on social media, Szijjarto stated that Budapest’s priority was stability in the Middle East, not “financing the war” in Ukraine.
“Hungary’s national security interest is peace in the Middle East and Lebanon’s stability is essential to that. We will not use our share of the European Peace Fund to arm Ukraine. We are redirecting 1.5 million euros to support the Lebanese Armed Forces,” he wrote.
The Hungarian government’s position was not surprising. Under the leadership of Prime Minister Viktor Orban, Hungary has reiterated that it opposes using the fund to finance EU military aid to Kiev, and remains one of the most resistant voices in the bloc.
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Conditional closure.
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Viktor Orban, Prime Minister of Hungary
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Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky speaks to the press before the European Union summit in Belgium
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Orban criticizes Ukraine’s membership in the European Union
In October, the Prime Minister said that Kiev’s entry into the bloc would drag the Europeans into “direct war” with Russia.
According to him, integration will force Hungary to bear the “burdens of war”, including the possibility of sending troops in case of escalation.
He declared, “Ukraine is a country with a very difficult fate. Why should we share this fate? (…) We do not want to die for Ukraine.”
Orban also rejected EU plans to maintain long-term military and financial support for Volodymyr Zelensky’s government. For the Prime Minister, this strategy is just an “illusion” based on the false expectation that the Russian economy will collapse.
These criticisms come as the European Council tries to advance formal negotiations for the accession of Ukraine and Moldova, which began in 2024. So far, Kiev has failed to open any of the six working groups needed to align its legislation with European standards.
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