Orban wants to disrupt aid to Ukraine to help Trump - Politico
Hungarian Prime Minister Viktor Orban wants to disrupt the provision of $50 billion in aid to Ukraine, which would be a political gift to Donald Trump.
According to Censor.NETCensor.NET, this was written by Politico.
"Hungarian Prime Minister Victor Orban is preparing to give a big political gift to his best friend across the Atlantic, former United States President Donald Trump," the article says.
Thus, Orban has come up with a way to allow Trump to get out of the $50 billion loan that the United States, the European Union and the G7 leaders offered Ukraine to support its fight against Russia if he becomes president of the United States. This will allow Trump to tell Republican voters that he will not give Ukraine a dime if elected.
Budapest says it will not agree to a change in the rules that would allow Washington to play an important role in the loan until after the US election.
The newspaper notes that the loan will be fully repaid from the proceeds of more than $250 billion worth of Russian assets frozen in the West.
Washington insists that the EU should extend the sanctions extension to at least 36 months. Under current rules, EU sanctions must be extended every six months, increasing the likelihood that one country will unfreeze assets, which would force national governments to use taxpayer money to repay the loan.
"While all the other leaders are in favor of extending the sanctions extension period to 36 months, as requested by the US, Orban refuses. According to the EU's own rules, all 27 member states must approve any changes to the sanctions rules. Ukraine urgently needs fresh funding from its Western allies to support its state and prepare for what is expected to be a brutal winter as Russia targets the country's war-torn energy infrastructure. And now, thanks to Orban, the United States is unlikely to be significantly involved. Nevertheless, Europe is likely to lead the way," the article says.
"If we do not resolve this (by extending the sanctions - Ed.), it will cost the EU - in particular Hungary - more money," the EU diplomat said on condition of anonymity.
Another diplomat said that Hungary does not care if Europe has to pay more. It is about helping Trump.
If the EU and the US jointly sign a 35 billion euro loan, Trump will be obliged to service it for years. But if the loan is approved without the United States, he will not have such an obligation.
"What appears to be a technical quibble is a critical one for Washington - and it could be enough to break transatlantic unity in support of Ukraine, at least on the financial front. While Orban threatens to use his veto in Brussels, the U.S. has signaled that it is considering participating in the loan - albeit at a much smaller amount - even if the EU fails to extend the sanctions period, a third EU diplomat and European Commission official said," Politico notes.
One option is for the US to contribute $5 billion, roughly equal to the amount of Russian assets it holds domestically, which would still leave Europe paying the lion's share of the bill.
"The Commission official believes that the US does not want to arrive empty-handed at the G7 finance ministers' meeting in Washington in late October, where the fine print of the $50 billion loan is likely to be decided. It is also important that Japan has recently signaled that it may withdraw from the loan if the United States does not participate," the authors added.
