Hungary’s attempt to disrupt the provision of assistance to Ukraine in the form of a $50 billion loan to be serviced by the Russian Central Bank’s assets frozen in the West is a political gift from Hungarian Prime Minister Viktor Orbán to former US President Donald Trump, Suspilne reports.
Hungarian Prime Minister Viktor Orbán is preparing to give a big political gift to his best friend across the Atlantic, former United States President Donald Trump, – Politico reports.
It is noted that Orbán has come up with a way to allow Trump, if he successfully gets to the White House for a second term in November, to get out of the $50 billion loan that the United States, the European Union and G7 leaders offered Ukraine to support its fight against Russia. This would allow Trump to tell Republican voters that if elected, he would not give Ukraine a dime.
Hungary says it will not agree to a change in the rules that would allow Washington to play an important role in the loan before the US election, – the newspaper noted.
The loan will be fully repaid from the proceeds of more than $250 billion worth of Russian assets frozen in the West.
According to Politico, Washington now insists that the EU should extend the sanctions for at least 36 months. Under the current rules, EU sanctions must be extended every six months, which increases the likelihood that one country will unfreeze assets, which would force national governments to use taxpayer money to repay the loan.
While all the other leaders favor extending the sanction’s extension period to 36 months, as requested by the US, Orbán refuses. According to the EU’s own rules, all 27 member states must approve any changes to the sanctions rules.
Ukraine urgently needs fresh funding from its Western allies to support its state and prepare for what is expected to be a brutal winter as Russia targets the country’s war-torn energy infrastructure, – the newspaper writes.
And now, thanks to Orbán, the United States is unlikely to be significantly involved. Nevertheless, Europe is likely to move forward.
If we don’t solve this (by extending the sanctions – ed.), it will cost the EU – including Hungary – more money, – said one EU diplomat on condition of anonymity.
The costs for European countries – including Hungary – would be higher than if the United States were also involved. However, this is a small price to pay for Orbán. The advantage for him is that he would buy much-needed goodwill from his Republican friend, the newspaper noted.
They (Hungary – ed.) don’t care if Europe has to pay more. It’s about helping Trump, – said the second EU diplomat.
If Brussels and Washington jointly sign a 35 billion euro loan, the re-elected Trump will be obliged to service it for years. But if the loan is approved without the United States, he will have no such obligation.
Orbán’s blocking of the loan is the latest example of alignment between Trump and the Hungarian prime minister, who met as recently as July in Mar-a-Lago.
Speaking to reporters in Brussels, Orbán said he would drink “a few bottles of champagne” if Trump defeated Kamala Harris in November.
As Politico explains, what appears to be a technical quibble is a critical one for Washington – and it could be enough to break transatlantic unity in support of Ukraine, at least on the financial front.
As Orbán threatens to use his veto in Brussels, the US has signaled that it is considering contributing to the loan – albeit at a much smaller amount – even if the EU fails to extend the sanctions period, said a third EU diplomat and European Commission official.
One option would involve a $5 billion contribution from Washington, roughly equal to the amount of Russian assets it holds domestically, and would still leave Europe footing the lion’s share of the bill.
The Commission official believes that the US does not want to arrive “empty-handed” at the G7 finance ministers’ meeting in Washington in late October, where the fine print of the $50 billion loan is likely to be decided.
It is also important that Japan has recently signaled that it may withdraw from the loan if the US does not participate.
