Hungary will not unlock US$35 billion loan for Ukraine until US elections

Hungary has opted not to support the EU decision to provide Ukraine with a US$35 billion loan at the expense of profits of frozen Russian assets, until the presidential election in the United States.

As reported by Euronews, according to Mihály Varga, Hungary's Finance Minister, the two US presidential contenders, Kamala Harris and Donald Trump, advocate opposing methods to settling Russia's war against Ukraine: "One, in the direction [of] peace. And [the other] continue to the war."

As a result, the Hungarian minister stressed that the EU should plan the following steps based on who the Americans choose.

"We believe that this issue should be decided – the prolongation of the Russian sanctions – after the US elections. That was the Hungarian position… We have to see in which direction the future US administration is going [on] this issue," he added.

This concerns the US$50 billion loan plan for Ukraine, agreed upon by G7 leaders, that will be repaid with profits from frozen Russian assets – meaning that Kyiv will not have to return the money.

The EU should provide €35 billion under the terms of the proposal, but this requires a reform in the sanctions mechanism, which allows for the freezing of assets in the EU.

Whether this extension should be formalised forever or for longer durations than the normal half-year was a source of contention in Brussels.