Hungarian Foreign Minister Peter Szijjarto said on January 29 that several European Union member states had "openly declared" at a meeting of the EU Foreign Affairs Council in Brussels that the bloc was "not ready for peace", which in his view means the EU is opting to continue the war in Ukraine, state news agency MTI writes.

Speaking at a press conference after the meeting, Szijjarto said it was unprecedented for member states to openly state that they want the war to continue and reject peace efforts. He argued that while the US president is making serious efforts to achieve peace, the main obstacle is Brussels itself. He condemned what he described as "war fanaticism" within EU institutions.

Szijjarto said some of his counterparts had portrayed the United States as a challenge to EU unity, accusing Washington of attempting to divide the bloc. He rejected this view, saying the EU was under "naive illusions" if it believed the US should defer to it in global affairs.

The minister warned that plans to relocate the EU’s military training mission to Ukrainian territory would cross a "red line" by risking direct confrontation with Russia and potentially triggering a wider conflict. He stressed that Hungary would not support the initiative.

He also criticised Ukraine's calls for the next EU sanctions package, due by February 24, to include Russian energy companies. Such measures, he said, would immediately cut off Hungary’s access to cheap Russian oil and gas, something the government firmly opposes.

According to Szijjarto, the EU intends to send more weapons, troops and financial support to Ukraine, which he said would mortgage Europe’s future and burden younger generations with long-term debt. He vowed that as long as Hungary has a "patriotic government", it will reject these proposals, including further financial aid to Ukraine and any sanctions threatening Hungary’s energy security.

Szijjarto also claimed that Ukraine had openly intervened in Hungary’s domestic politics by supporting the opposition Tisza Party, which he said would back Kyiv’s military and financial demands and draw Hungary into the conflict.

Hungary has consistently opposed deeper EU military involvement in the war since Russia’s invasion of Ukraine in February 2022, calling for an immediate ceasefire and peace talks, while seeking exemptions from EU sanctions affecting Russian energy imports due to the country’s heavy reliance on them.