Poland’s PM says EU to break Ukraine aid standoff ‘with or without’ Hungary’s Orban
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Polish Prime Minister Donald Tusk addresses a media conference during a visit earlier in January to Ukraine's capital, Kyiv.
PHOTO: EPA-EFE
WARSAW - Polish Prime Minister Donald Tusk said on Jan 30, ahead of key talks on the Ukraine conflict, that the EU would find a way to provide aid to Ukraine “with or without” Hungary’s approval.
Hungarian Prime Minister Viktor Orban, who maintained close ties to the Kremlin following Russia’s invasion of Ukraine, in December vetoed €50 billion (S$70 billion) in EU aid for Ukraine.
The bloc will hold a special summit on Feb 1 to seek a solution to the standoff as the war nears its second anniversary.
“One way or another, we will find some solution, with or without Orban, to support Ukraine,” Mr Tusk told journalists.
Populist leaders in Europe, including in Slovakia and Hungary, have condemned the conflict and Kyiv’s urgent requests for tens of billions of euros in support. Only Budapest vetoed the latest aid package however.
Mr Tusk, a former European Council president chairing its summits, branded Mr Orban as “the only openly anti-Ukrainian” leader within the bloc.
Mr Tusk also said ahead of the summit he would speak to Slovak Prime Minister Robert Fico, who has angered Kyiv.
Mr Fico questioned Ukraine’s sovereignty and called for Kyiv to cede territory to Moscow to end the war – something Ukraine has repeatedly ruled out.
“It’s in Slovakia’s interest not to be on political and moral sidelines, where Viktor Orban has ended up with his pro-Putin rhetoric,” Mr Tusk added. AFP
