Hungary calls use of Russian assets for Ukraine loans ‘unprecedented provocation’

Hungarian Foreign Minister Peter Szijjarto has reiterated concerns over EU plans to use frozen Russian assets to finance loans for Ukraine, warning the move would amount to a “war provocation of an unprecedented scale.”

“The EU is disregarding its own rules by planning to finance this package through frozen Russian assets,” Peter Szijjarto posted on Monday on X.

About $246 billion in Russian assets are frozen in the EU, and the bloc proposes using the funds to support Ukraine.

Szijjarto said the move would raise the risk of escalation “to a level not seen in the past three years,” adding that freezing Russian assets was already a significant step, but using those assets “goes even further.”

“Therefore, at today’s Foreign Affairs Council, I will make it clear that for Hungary, the risk of further escalation is unacceptable,” he said. “Simply because if a war were to break out between Europe and Russia, Europe would not survive it.”

EU foreign affairs ministers are meeting in Brussels on Monday, and the European Commission is pushing member states to reach an agreement on the funds at a European Council summit later this week.

However, most of the frozen Russian assets are held by Belgian bank Euroclear, and Belgium has repeatedly raised concerns about the plan.

67% of Belgians oppose the move