US Permanent Representative to the European Union Andrew Puzder said that Hungarian Prime Minister Viktor Orbán's blocking of an EU loan to Ukraine is not a US problem, Politico reports.
"This is an internal EU issue, this isn’t a United States issue; they need to resolve the issue of how they’re going to finance Ukraine to the extent to which they’re gonna finance it," Puzder told the publication.
EU countries agreed to provide Ukraine with a loan of EUR 90 billion, but Orbán changed his mind after russian oil stopped flowing through the Druzhba pipeline. The newspaper notes that despite Trump's close ties with Orbán, Puzder says it is up to the EU to find a way to finance Kyiv.
"Whether that loan goes through and the condition in which it goes through is something for the EU to resolve internally, and I have every confidence that they will resolve it," he said.
The US Ambassador to the EU also added that the United States is "happy" to sell Ukraine more weapons, which Kyiv will be able to pay for with an EU loan.
Earlier, on March 21, US President Donald Trump expressed his support for Orbán ahead of the April 12 elections in a video broadcast at the Conservative Political Action Conference in Budapest.
"He’s a fantastic guy, and it’s such an honor to endorse him. I endorsed him last time he won, and he did a fantastic job for his country," Trump said.
Speaking about whether the accusations that the Hungarian foreign minister informed moscow about internal EU negotiations will change the US position on Orbán, Puzder said that this is "obviously a decision that the president has to make." He indicated that Trump "likes" the Hungarian prime minister.
"I think a lot of the dust that’s been thrown in the air with respect to Hungary and its relationship with the European Union will settle down after the election. No matter which party wins, I think a lot of this will settle once the election’s over," Puzder added.
Meanwhile, on March 23, the European Commission said that it was waiting for an explanation from Hungary, whether Foreign Minister Péter Szijjártó informed russian Foreign Minister Sergei Lavrov about the course of the EU Council meetings.
On March 24, Hungarian Foreign Minister Péter Szijjártó confirmed that he regularly holds closed consultations with Russian Foreign Minister Sergey Lavrov. He called it part of normal diplomatic work, which is necessary to protect Budapest's interests.
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