Orban named the condition for allocating 500 million euros of aid to Kyiv from the EU fund

Hungary is ready to provide assistance to Ukraine and approve a tranche of 500 million euros from the European Peace Fund for arms purchases if a delegation of the Ukrainian National Anti-Corruption Agency (NAPC) comes to Budapest. This was announced by Hungarian Prime Minister Viktor Orban.

“We are waiting for the Ukrainian delegation to arrive in Budapest to discuss this issue. We are open and ready to make a deal,” he said (quote according to RIA Novosti).

October 23 in Luxembourg passed the next meeting of the foreign ministers of the EU member states. During the meeting, they were unable to agree on the allocation of the eighth tranche of military assistance to Ukraine from the European Peace Fund. The next tranche of military assistance to Kyiv was agreed upon back in May. Its allocation was blocked by Hungary due to Ukraine’s inclusion of the largest Hungarian OTP Bank in its “list of international war sponsors.”

In September, the National Agency for the Prevention of Corruption (NACP) of Ukraine suspended status of “international war sponsor” for the Hungarian OTP Bank to receive assistance worth 500 million euros. The Hungarian authorities did not agree to this condition and demanded a complete delisting for the bank. As a result, on October 2, NAPC excluded OTP Bank from the black list.

4 October Hungarian Foreign Minister Peter Szijjártó reportedthat Budapest demands Kyiv to lift sanctions on the Russian branch of OTP Bank. Szijjártó also added that he considers the exclusion of his OTP Bank from the Ukrainian list of “international war sponsors” a step in the right direction.