Orban plans to block $50 billion in aid to Ukraine to help Trump - Politico
Kyiv • UNN
Hungarian Prime Minister Orban is preparing to disrupt a $50 billion loan to Ukraine to help Trump in the election. He refuses to extend EU sanctions, blocking US participation in the financing.
Hungarian Prime Minister Viktor Orban is preparing to give a big political gift to former US President Donald Trump. He wants to disrupt the provision of assistance to Ukraine in the form of a $50 billion loan. This was reported by Politico.
Details
The newspaper writes that Orban has figured out a way to allow Trump, if he is successfully re-elected to the White House for a second term in November, to get out of the $50 billion loan that the United States, the European Union and the leaders of the Group of Seven countries have offered to Ukraine.
"This will let Trump off the hook and allow him to tell Republican voters that he won't give Ukraine a dime if elected," Politico writes .
Hungary has said it will not agree to change the rules that would allow Washington to play an important role in the loan until after the US elections. The loan will be fully repaid from the profits generated from Russian assets worth more than $250 billion.
Washington insists that the EU extend the sanctions extension period to at least 36 months. Under the current rules, EU sanctions are extended every six months, which increases the likelihood that one country will unfreeze assets, forcing national governments to use taxpayer money to repay the loan.
While all other leaders are in favor of extending the sanctions to 36 months, as demanded by the US, Orban refuses. According to EU rules, all 27 member states must approve any changes to the sanctions rules.
"Ukraine urgently needs fresh funding from its Western allies to keep the state running and prepare for the brutal winter that is expected as Russia targets the war-torn country's 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 don't settle this issue [by extending the sanctions], it will cost the EU - in particular Hungary - a lot of money," said one EU diplomat.
Another EU diplomat said that Hungary "doesn't care if Europe has to pay more. The main thing is to help Trump." According to him, if Brussels and Washington jointly finance the 35 billion euro loan, the re-elected Trump will be obliged to service it for many years. But if the loan is approved without U.S. participation, he will have no such obligations.
While Orban threatens to use his veto in Brussels, the US has signaled that it is considering participating in the loan - albeit with a much smaller amount - even if the EU fails to extend the sanctions period, according to a third EU diplomat and a European Commission official.
One option suggests that Washington would contribute $5 billion, roughly equal to the amount of Russian assets it owns domestically, but that Europe would bear the lion's share of the costs.
A Commission official believes that the US does not want to come "empty-handed" to the meeting of G7 finance ministers in Washington in late October, which is likely to decide on the $50 billion loan. Perhaps more significantly, Japan has recently made it clear that it may withdraw from the loan if the United States does not participate, Politico reports. Currently, all attention is focused on the EU leaders' summit to be held this week.
