Hungarian officials told Euronews the government's policy in Ukraine is that 'both parties' need to negotiate an end to the conflict and that there was 'no military solution'.
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00:00Make Europe Great Again, borrowing a phrase from Donald Trump, is the slogan of Hungary's
00:05six-month rotating presidency of the European Council.
00:09And just days into Hungary's presidency and Prime Minister Viktor Orban has drawn the
00:12ire of the EU after reports emerged he's taking an unscheduled visit to Putin in Russia.
00:19President of the European Council Charles Michel reminded Orban he has no right to represent
00:22the EU in Moscow, tweeting, the EU rotating presidency has no mandate to engage with Russia
00:28on behalf of the EU, no discussions about Ukraine can take place without Ukraine.
00:35Meanwhile the government says its priorities for the EU as part of the presidency include
00:39a strong line of migration, enlargement and it also has a strong role to play to ensure
00:43the smooth transition to a new college of commissioners after the European Parliament
00:48elections.
00:49It also says defence is a priority, but Hungary is still blocking 6.6 billion euros of military
00:54support for Ukraine.
00:56The Hungarian government took the decision that we provide a wide-ranging support for
01:02Ukraine including humanitarian one, but we do not provide directly or indirectly military
01:07support to Ukraine.
01:09The Hungarian government says it promises to be an honest broker and work hard on the
01:13transition to the new college of commissioners, despite the fact that Viktor Orban, the Prime
01:17Minister, voted against Ursula von der Leyen for a second term as President of the European
01:22Commission.
01:23However, there is concern among some member states that the constant blocking by Hungary
01:26on issues regarding Ukraine, whether its military, finance or the areas of enlargement, will
01:31still cause consternation.
01:33Shona Murray, Euronews, Budapest.