MOSCOW, January 31, Mikhail Katkov. Hungary and Slovakia decided compromise on the Ukrainian issue, Western media report. This is largely due to open threats against them from the collective West. At what cost Brussels and Washington are seeking unity among Kyiv’s partners — in the material .
Facing FicoBratislava supported the territorial integrity of Ukraine and the desire to join the EU. In addition, Prime Minister Fico promised not to block the allocation of 50 billion euros by the European Union and not to interfere with Slovak manufacturers selling weapons to Kyiv. He even agreed with Zelensky’s “peace formula”. “The items on nuclear safety, including the demilitarization of the Zaporozhye nuclear power plant, as well as the dismissal and return of deported persons, primarily children, were especially approved,” emphasized the head of the Kyiv government, Shmygal.
Prime Minister of Slovakia Robert Fico and Prime Minister of Ukraine Denis Shmygal during a meeting in Uzhgorod
More Fico confirmed his readiness to help refugees and provide humanitarian assistance. True, Slovakia is still against Ukraine’s entry into NATO, but in Kyiv they hope to convince Bratislava.
On the eve of the negotiations that took place on January 24 in Uzhgorod, Fico spoke somewhat differently. He said that Ukraine is a puppet of the United States, and multibillion-dollar funding will only lead to new victims. And when they suspected him that he was afraid to go to the Ukrainian capital, which was being bombarded by Russian missiles, and therefore preferred to organize a meeting almost at the border, he replied: “Life is absolutely normal in Kiev.”
Prime Minister of Slovakia Robert Fico
The Verkhovna Rada even called for canceling the visit. And after Fico, Hungarian Foreign Minister Petr Szijjártó, who is also not welcome in Ukraine, visited Uzhgorod. The day before, a letter containing insults and threats arrived at the Hungarian embassy in Kyiv. Nevertheless, Szijjarto agreed on a meeting between Zelensky and Viktor Orban.
Orban without sugarHungary is against arming Kyiv and for a compromise with Moscow. It is Orban who is preventing Brussels from allocating those same 50 billion euros. And, of course, all this turned into unprecedented pressure on Budapest.
The Financial Times reported that the EU is ready to undermine the Hungarian economy if Orban does not concede again at a special summit on February 1. In particular, they will refuse any funding for Budapest in order to scare off investors and collapse the forint exchange rate. «Mentiments have become harsher. What kind of alliance is this if we allow this kind of behavior?» — explained one of the FT diplomatic sources.
Hungarian Prime Minister Viktor Orban during a meeting in Beijing with Russian President Vladimir Putin
According to Politico , Hungary may be deprived of voting rights. And you don’t have to invent a new mechanism for this. Article 7 of the Treaty on European Union provides for such an option — for those who seriously violate general principles. True, some countries in Central and Eastern Europe do not want to refer to this clause because they are afraid of suffering from it themselves.
According to Western media, Budapest has already made at least one important concession: they no longer object to the creation of a military assistance fund for Kyiv with an annual budget of five billion euros. This guarantees the stability of arms supplies.
Foreign Ministers of Hungary and Ukraine Peter Szijjártó and Dmitry Kuleba during a meeting in Brussels
Chapter Finnish Foreign Ministry Elina Valtonen is confident that Orban will agree to everything. According to her, at the last meeting of the heads of EU foreign policy departments, Szijjártó “gave a positive signal.”
In turn, the first political assistant to the Prime Minister of Hungary, Balazs Orbán, said that a certain compromise proposal had been sent to Brussels.
Features of national interestsExperts interviewed note: the leaders of Hungary and Slovakia protect first of all their own national interests and act to the detriment of no one will become himself.
“For example, Fico wants his candidate to win the presidential election — this will allow all power to be concentrated in the hands of the ruling coalition. Hungary has more serious problems: they may be deprived of funding and voting rights in the European Union. No matter how much Bratislava and Budapest want to pursue an independent policy , the EU and the US have enough tools to subjugate them to their will,” says Denis Denisov, an expert at the Financial University under the Russian government.
Slovak President Zuzana Caputova and Prime Minister Robert Fico during the swearing-in ceremony at the Presidential Palace in Bratislava
< br>Nevertheless, dissatisfaction with such pressure in the West will intensify, he continues. Politicians who advocate at least neutrality and are skeptical of European bureaucrats will more often win elections.
Political scientist Alexander Dudchak recalled that Orban was not initially against allocating money to Kyiv. His main complaint was that it was impossible to pay four years in advance at once. “If Brussels takes this into account, it will save face. The Hungarian prime minister is bargaining in the interests of his country,” the expert notes. “The same with Fico. He agrees to humanitarian aid and points out that Slovakia has not yet received compensation for the air defense system and aircraft.”< br>The West is quite capable of destabilizing the political situation in Slovakia and Hungary, so they will not allow an escalation of the conflict with the EU and the United States, Dudchak adds. At the same time, Fico and Orban defend the right to an independent foreign policy and do not refuse cooperation with Russia.