![]() It should also be noted here that Hungary is also an eager proponent of enhanced ties with China, a close ‘ally’ of Russia.Īlso worth mentioning is that like many European countries but perhaps even more so, Hungary was heavily dependent on Russian energy sources to drive its industrial growth and warm its homes. This reluctance and careful balancing is a likely indication that Hungary has every intention of maintaining its ties with Russia. Sanctions and aid aside, he continues to accuse the EU and the West of prolonging the war in Ukraine by continuing to send ever-more advanced military aid to Kyiv. He has also attempted to roadblock every raft of EU sanctions that are prepared against Russia though his regime, thus far, has always given in and approved each round. To date, Hungary has refused to provide any military aid to Ukraine, either through EU channels or even independently. Since then, Orban has been a noticeable outlier amongst the West in his reluctance to not only call out or criticise Russia’s actions but also openly hold back from supporting Ukraine. ![]() Populist Hungarian leader Viktor Orban was known to be a ‘friend’ to Vladimir Putin and Russia before the invasion of Ukraine started last year. Hungary’s actions in this situation are symbolic of its uncomfortable stance in regard to the war in Ukraine. Hungary’s complicated stance on Russia and the Ukraine war The 11th round of sanctions that Hungary is now holding up is supposed to be particularly notable in that it is specifically aimed at closing loopholes and methods of circumvention by which Russia has avoided the full impact of western sanctions, making full use of third-party entities for this purpose. An exhaustive list of such companies that is researched and frequently updated by Yale University shows that hundreds of companies, many of them European, have continued to maintain their operations in Russia, sometimes at full capacity, what Yale refers to as ‘business as usual’.īut equally important to note is that while many of the European companies on this list have been blacklisted by Kyiv, none of the parent nations for such blacklisted companies have decided to lash out at Ukrainian aid in retaliation. It remains unclear so far as to whether this blacklisting only affects the Russian branch or the entirety of the OTP bank.Ī pertinent point to note here is that OTP bank is hardly alone in being the only company or even western company to defy the growing list of sanctions against Russia during its ongoing war in Ukraine. ![]() The report notes that the bank is one of the 50-largest banks in Russia and appears to provide preferential lending conditions to those employed in the nation’s armed forces. According to the Kyiv Independent, Ukraine’s National Corruption Prevention Agency blacklisted the OTP bank on May 4 due to its decision to continue operating in Russia and its adherence to a credit law that refers to the ‘proxy regimes’ in Russian-occupied Donetsk and Luhansk oblasts. Ukraine’s reason for this blacklisting is straightforward. The real reason, as revealed later, was the blacklisting of the OTP bank. Hungary ostensibly held up the funds for the ‘noble’ purpose of ensuring that EPF funds are not exclusively used for Ukraine but also sent to other areas of priority for the EU, including the Balkans and North Africa. Using the EPF, the EU has, thus far, provided around 3.6 billion euros worth of support to Ukraine. ![]() The sanctions aside, Hungary, earlier this week, also blocked the approval process for the next tranche of off-budget EU military support for Ukraine under the European Peace Facility (EPF).
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