Hungary is the only member state not to join the EU condemnation of recent Russian attack on Kyiv
26 EU member states all voted to adopt a statement condemning Russia's recent missile strikes against Kyiv, which killed at least 19 people, including four children, The Guardian has reported. Hungary was the only member state not to vote in favor of the statement.
The statement was issued by the EU's High Representative for Foreign Affairs and Security Policy, expressing the opinion of the entire EU, with the exception of Hungary. Kaja Kallas spoke of an attack that violated international law, as it deliberately targeted civilian objects, including a building of the EU delegation.
The Russian side has denied that it targeted these objects, with Russian Foreign Minister Sergey Lavrov blaming the Ukrainian air defenses for what happened. Lavrov's words are in line with the Kremlin's regular statements that they are only attacking military facilities. Similar explanations had been given after previous attacks on department stores over the past three and a half years of Russia's war against Ukraine.
We have contacted the Hungarian Ministry of Foreign Affairs and Trade with questions to find out which part of the statement the Hungarian side had objected to. We will update our article once when we receive a response.
Update:
We received an answer from the ministry late on Friday.
"After a long time, negotiations between the United States and Russia have begun in Alaska, which finally brought us closer to peace. Once there is peace, there will be no more bombing and no more needless casualties of war. Hungary is in favour of peace, so we can only support documents that will advance the cause of peace," the ministry wrote in its response.
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