Budapest debunked the claim its deputy FM promised Ukraine transit of weapons
Hungary’s position on deliveries of foreign weapons to Ukraine through its territory has not changed, the foreign ministry in Budapest said on Tuesday evening in a statement. Earlier in the day, authorities in the western Ukrainian city of Lviv claimed the visiting deputy foreign minister had told them otherwise.
“We do not send soldiers or weapons to Ukraine, and we do not allow weapons to cross the Hungarian-Ukrainian border,” said Foreign Ministry spokesman Paczolay Mate. “Not a single weapon delivery has crossed the Hungarian-Ukrainian border, and this will not change in the future, as this poses a security risk to the area of Transcarpathia and would endanger the safety of the Hungarian people.”
This policy has been “clear from the beginning” and “remains unchanged,” Mate added, so “any news portal that circulates a statement to the contrary is publishing incorrect information.”
His statement came on the heels of reports in Ukrainian media – quoting the Lviv city council – that Deputy Foreign Minister Magyar Levente had announced a change to this policy during his visit to the western Ukrainian city.
According to Mayor Andrey Sadovoy, Levente said that Hungary sympathized with Ukraine and would allow the transit of weapons through its territory, admit Ukrainian military personnel and civilians to its hospitals, and give scholarships to 1,000 Ukrainians at Hungarian universities.
Levente’s alleged comments were at odds with the official position of Budapest voiced by his boss, Foreign Minister Peter Szijarto, earlier this month. Szijarto is currently in New York, where he urged the UN Security Council to “do everything possible to [establish a] ceasefire immediately and to start peace negotiations” in Ukraine.
Kiev has repeatedly criticized Budapest for insufficiently supporting the Ukrainian cause. Hungarian Prime Minister Viktor Orban has been a vocal critic of the EU sanctions against Russia, saying last week that they were destroying the bloc’s own economy rather than hurting Moscow. The speaker of the Hungarian parliament touched off a war of words with Kiev last month, when he said that Ukrainian President Vladimir Zelensky had a “mental problem” because he went around threatening the countries he was at the same time begging for help.
BAT ULZII DISTRICT, Mongolia, Jul 19 (IPS) – “My son went after his cow. He will come soon. Our work starts as soon as the sun rises — milking the cows, herding the sheep, rearing the calves, and on it goes. There is nothing more difficult than losing cows and calves on hot summer days,” says herder D. Chimiddulam, standing in green grass on one side of a tall wooden fence, looking at dozens of black and white sheep and goats in the enclosure.
A team of economists offers America a new way to look at economic growth. It’s a sort of GDP prototype that tracks the well-being of different income groups.
North Macedonia and Albania are a step closer to membership after Skopje resolved its disputes with Bulgaria
The European Union has initiated accession talks with North Macedonia and Albania, EU Commission President Ursula von der Leyen announced on Tuesday.
Speaking at a press conference in Brussels, von der Leyen hailed Skopje and Tirana for their progress on the path to joining the bloc, including strengthening the rule of law, fighting corruption, and implementing a range of reforms.
She said the governments of the two Balkan nations have been making headway to become EU members because those steps are “good for your countries and are already delivering a better quality of life for your people.”
“This historic moment is your success. The result of your hard work,” she reiterated.
“We have taken another important step towards bringing the Western Balkans closer to the EU. It’s a great success of our presidency,” Czech Prime Minister Petr Fiala tweeted on Monday.
North Macedonia (then Macedonia) was granted candidate status back in 2005, but it took Skopje years to resolve some of its disputes with neighboring countries, including Bulgaria, which had blocked the nation’s accession to the EU over linguistic and historical issues.
This opposition also hindered Albania’s progress, given that the EU treats the issue as a part of a single package. Notably, the two nations go together in the EU’s 2021 enlargement package, a comprehensive strategy that sets priorities in removing obstacles for EU membership for the Western Balkans.
On Sunday, however, Bulgaria and North Macedonia managed to strike a deal allowing Skopje and Tirana to formally initiate accession negotiations with the EU. North Macedonia, in particular, agreed to amend the nation’s constitution to acknowledge its Bulgarian minority, protect minority rights, and fight hate speech.
Before that, however, the French-led “compromise solution” on the matter sparked fierce protests in North Macedonia, which saw crowds of nationalists rallying outside the parliament and clashing with the police.
It may take years before the two Balkan countries actually become fully fledged EU members, with no deadline set for the process. To join the union, the candidates must undergo a screening process of national legislation in order to align it with EU law.
