Hungary’s prime minister on Friday rejected an emotional appeal from Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy to supply Ukraine with weapons and support sanctions on Russia’s energy sector.
Prime Minister Viktor Orban said in a video posted to social media that Zelenskyy’s requests were “against Hungary’s interests,” and that sanctions on Russian energy “would mean that the Hungarian economy would slow down and then stop within moments.”
The rejection came after Zelenskyy on Thursday addressed a meeting of European Union leaders in Brussels where he specifically addressed Orban, who is widely considered Russian President Vladimir Putin’s closest ally in the EU.
“Listen, Viktor, do you know what is happening in Mariupol?” Zelenskyy said. “I want to be open once and for all — you should decide for yourself, who you are for.”
Hungary, alone among EU countries bordering Ukraine, has declined to supply its neighbour with weapons and refused to allow weapons shipments to cross its border into Ukraine.
On Friday, Orban said that 85% of Hungary’s gas and more than 60% of its oil comes from Russia, and that blocking Russian energy exports would force Hungarians to “pay the price of the war.”