Budapest declares support for Ukraine, calls Russia partner, not friend

The head of the Hungarian Prime Minister's Office, Gergely Gulyás, said this in a statement 24.hu reports.

He commented on the prime minister's recent statement about Ukraine's weak economy.

“There is no shame in the fact that if an economy cannot function, it needs economic assistance,” Gulyás said.

He also assured that Hungary remains on the side of Ukraine and its allies, and that Budapest considers Russia “not a friend, but a partner.”

“We are among those who support Ukraine. Russia is our partner, not our friend, America is our ally, and our allies are our friends. For Russia to be our friend, we need to respect international law,” he said.

• Hungarian Prime Minister Viktor Orban said that Ukraine is unable to finance itself and called Ukraine “a financially non-existent country.”

• The day before, the Hungarian parliament did not support a resolution to arrest Putin under the ICC warrant.