V4 rift over Russian Sanctions leaves meeting canceled
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An upcoming Visegrád 4 meeting between the four countries' defense ministers has been canceled, after the Polish and Czech ministers decided to pull out because of Hungary's lack of support for sanctions against Russia, according to a report by Euractiv.
The meeting was originally scheduled to take place on March 30-31 in Hungary.
According to the report, Polish Defense Minister Mariusz Błaszczak canceled his participation over Hungary’s rhetoric over the Russian invasion of Ukraine.
Czech Defense Minister Jana Černochová also canceled her participation.
“I have always supported the V4 and I am very sorry that cheap Russian oil is now more important to Hungarian politicians than Ukrainian blood,” the Czech minister tweeted.
The Hungarian Ministry of Defense has confirmed that the meeting has been called off adding that an in-person meeting will be held at a later date.
Hungary voted in favor of all four packages of sanctions imposed by the European Union against Moscow, but Prime Minister Viktor Orbán has repeatedly stated that the government is against sanctioning Russian energy imports. In addition, Hungary also banned the transportation of arms intended for Ukraine through its territory.
In an address last week, Ukrainian leader Volodymyr Zelenskyy criticized Orbán, calling on him to take tougher actions against Russia.
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