Viktor Orbán appeared to have agreed not to block the borrowing as long as his country, Slovakia and the Czech Republic were excluded from the guarantees. What we know on day 1,395
Hungary’s Viktor Orbán has agreed not to block a massive EU-backed interest-free loan to Ukraine to meet its military and economic needs for the next two years, as long as his country, Slovakia and the Czech Republic were excluded from the guarantees for the debt. After failing to agree on using frozen Russian assets, diplomats announced the new loan in the early hours of Friday. The deal will not affect the financial obligations of Hungary, Slovakia and the Czech Republic, which did not want to contribute to the financing of Ukraine, the text said. Moscow-friendly Hungary had previously said it would oppose the deal, just as it opposed the use of Russian assets.
German chancellor Friedrich Merz said Ukraine would have to repay the loan only if Russia paid reparations for its war, and that the EU reserved the right to use Russian assets immobilised in the EU for repayment if Russia failed to pay compensation. Merz had pushed hard for the frozen asset plan – but still said the final decision on the loan “sends a clear signal” to Russian president Vladimir Putin.
