EU believes it will overcome Hungary's veto on aid to Ukraine and new sanctions
The EU believes that it will find a way to overcome Hungary's veto on the next package of aid to Ukraine and the 11th package of sanctions against Russia.
Source: Interfax Ukraine, citing several European high officials anonymously
Details: One of the sources said that he saw a statement from Budapest announcing its intention to block the next 500 million euros for weapons for Ukraine from the European Peace Fund and new sanctions because Hungary was offended by Ukrainian sanctions against its OTP bank, which has not stopped working in Russia.
Quote: "We will do what we always do: talk with each other, talk with the Ukrainian side and talk with Hungary. Our priority is to ensure that we continue to support Ukraine so that it wins, and for this, we must guarantee financial support," the source said.
More details: He added that it is important whether the Ukrainian sanctions affected only one company from the bank's structure or the entire OTP, and its Russian branch is, as far as the official knows, a tiny share of the bank's overall activity.
The second source expressed the opinion that "these issues cannot be connected with each other, and it goes against the main line of sanctions".
In his opinion, the EU will find a way to solve this issue, but new sanctions will not be approved at the next meeting of foreign ministers on 22 May.
Background: Budapest said it would block EU military aid to Ukraine as long as OTP Bank is listed as a war sponsor.
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