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https://www.theguardian.com/us-news/2023/dec/10/hungary-viktor-orban-republicans-ukraine-aid>
"Allies of Hungary’s far-right prime minister Viktor Orbán will hold a
closed-door meeting with Republicans in Washington to push for an end to US
military support for Ukraine, the
Guardian has learned.
Members of the Hungarian Institute of International Affairs and staff from the
Hungarian embassy in Washington will on Monday begin a two-day event hosted by
the conservative Heritage Foundation thinktank.
The first day includes panel speeches about the Ukraine war as well as topics
such as Transatlantic Culture Wars. It is expected to feature guests including
Magor Ernyei, the international director of the Centre for Fundamental Rights,
the institute that organized CPAC (Conservative Political Action Conference)
Hungary. Kelley Currie, a former ambassador under then president Donald Trump,
said she was invited “but declined”.
According to a Republican source, some of the attendees, including Republican
members of Congress, have been invited to join closed-door talks the next day.
The meeting will take place against a backdrop of tense debate in Washington
over Ukraine’s future. Last week the White House warned that, without
congressional action, money to buy more weapons and equipment for Kyiv will run
out by the end of the year. On Wednesday Senate Republicans blocked an
emergency spending bill to fund the war in Ukraine.
A diplomatic source close to the Hungarian embassy said: “Orbán is confident
that the Ukraine aid will not pass in Congress. That is why he is trying to
block assistance from the EU as well.”
Orbán is a frequent critic of aid to help Ukraine against the Russian invasion.
Seen as Vladimir Putin’s closest ally inside the EU for the past few years, he
was photographed smiling and shaking hands with the Russian president two
months ago in Beijing."
Via Diane A.
Cheers,
*** Xanni ***
--
mailto:xanni@xanadu.net Andrew Pam
http://xanadu.com.au/ Chief Scientist, Xanadu
https://glasswings.com.au/ Partner, Glass Wings
https://sericyb.com.au/ Manager, Serious Cybernetics
