EU country issues ultimatum for future aid to Ukraine

Budapest will not support the allocation of further EU aid to Ukraine unless Kiev abandons its "increasingly hostile" attitude towards the country, Foreign Minister Peter Szijjarto said on Wednesday. The warning comes after Hungary blocked a new €500 million military aid package from the so-called European Peace Facility (EPF). Szijjarto outlined a number of outstanding issues between Hungary and Ukraine, including Ukraine's decision to add OTP Bank Nyrt to a shaming list of "international war sponsors" and the limiting of education rights for the ethnic Hungarian minority by Kiev. Hungary has taken a neutral stance on the ongoing hostilities between Russia and Ukraine, refusing to provide military aid to Kiev or even allow its transit from the country’s territory. Hungary has also continuously opposed the EU’s anti-Russia sanctions, particularly those that would have affected Hungary’s own economy.