The Hungarian government refused to transfer $18 million to the European Peace Fund and will use it to maintain security and stability in Chad, Hungarian Foreign Minister Peter Szijjarto said at a press conference on Thursday after a meeting in Budapest with his Chadian counterpart Mahamat Saleh Annadif.
"We have decided to use this $18 million to strengthen security in Chad, to create a new educational institution to train army officers in Chad and to improve the capabilities of the Chadian armed forces," Szijjarto said, as cited by the media.
He also recalled that Hungary is implementing a broad program of providing economic and social assistance to the African country.
During the meeting the countries also signed "a comprehensive cooperation agreement in order to curb migration," according to the Hungarian official.
Previously, Hungary stated that it would not veto an increase in the European Peace Fund, which finances arms purchases for Ukraine, but it itself would not take part in its work. The EU's foreign policy agency has proposed increasing this fund by 5 billion euros in 2024 to expand arms supplies to the Ukrainian army.
Szijjarto, however, pointed out that for Hungary, arms supplies are a red line and therefore the country does not want to make a contribution to expand the fund, but is ready to allocate the appropriate amount to assist Ukraine.
Earlier in February, Hungarian Prime Minister Viktor Orban said that Ukraine would not be able to secure victory over Russia in the conflict, no matter how many weapons and military aid the West delivered to Kiev, adding that supporting Ukraine has a very high political price for Europe, where no one believes in Kiev's ability to win the conflict at some point.