Prime Minister of Slovakia expresses support for Hungarian leader Orbán in negotiations with the EU on financing Ukraine

Slovak Prime Minister Robert Fico has expressed his support for Hungarian leader Viktor Orbán in negotiations with the EU on financing Ukraine.

The Washington Post reports.

The leaders of Hungary and Slovakia said they agreed on the need to revise the European Union's plan to provide financial assistance to Ukraine.

After bilateral talks in Budapest, Slovak Prime Minister Robert Fico said he agreed with Orbán's position that the EU should not provide Ukraine with €50 billion from the joint budget and that "the war cannot be resolved through military means".

"We have listened very carefully to the proposals that Prime Minister (Orbán) ... has already put forward in relation to the review of the budget and aid to Ukraine, and I will repeat that we consider them to be rational and sensible," Fico said.

Orbán added: "If we want to help Ukraine, which I think we need to do ... we must do so without damaging the EU budget."

After the European Council voted to open EU accession talks with Ukraine, Hungary blocked a €50 billion macro-financial assistance package for Ukraine from the European Union. 

Back then, the President of the European Council, Charles Michel, said that negotiations on aid to Ukraine would continue in 2024. One of the backup plans is to send money to Ukraine outside the EU budget process.

EU leaders are expected to meet again on February 1 to try to agree on a financial package for Ukraine.