"Don't pour oil on the fire"

Kremlin welcomes Hungary's stance on arms delivery to Ukraine

HANDOUT - In this photo provided by the press service of the 65th Mechanized Brigade of Ukraine, a soldier prepares an FGM-148 Javelin anti-tank missile system during an exercise near the front line in the Zaporizhzhya region. Photo: Andriy Andriyenko/Ukrainian 65 Mechanized brigade/dpa - ATTENTION: For editorial use only in connection with current reporting and only with full attribution of the above credit

Keystone

Russia has praised Hungary's decision not to supply arms to Ukraine as a positive decision.

Keystone-SDA

29.05.2026, 12:38•29.05.2026, 14:00

"If any side talks about the fact that it does not consider it necessary to pour oil on the fire, then this can only be welcomed," Kremlin spokesman Dmitry Peskov told the Russian news agency Interfax on the sidelines of a visit by Kremlin leader Vladimir Putin to the Kazakh capital Astana. "We would expect all countries to make such a decision, then there would be peace sooner."

Following a meeting with Nato Secretary General Mark Rutte, the new Hungarian Prime Minister Peter Magyar confirmed Budapest's previous line under the previous government of Viktor Orban. "I told the Secretary General that Hungary will not send any weapons or combat equipment to the Russian-Ukrainian war," he announced on Facebook. At the same time, he emphasized with regard to NATO: "Hungary will once again be a reliable partner of the strongest military alliance in the world."

Peskov: EU cannot mediate in the Ukraine war

Peskov also reacted to the meeting of EU foreign ministers in Cyprus, at which no mediator was appointed for possible negotiations with Russia. "At present, Europe is a party to the conflict on the side of Ukraine", he said. European weapons are being used against Russian troops. "Therefore, with this status, Europe can of course in no way claim to be a mediator," said Peskov. "They are fighting on the side of Ukraine."

At the same time, Peskov reiterated his openness to dialog. The "greatest stupidity" of the Europeans in the conflict so far has been to reject any talks with Russia. Brussels had thus led relations with Moscow into a dead end, said Peskov. So far, Europe had not proposed anything or anyone to find a way out of the situation.

EU does not consider itself neutral either

The day before in Cyprus, EU foreign affairs representative Kaja Kallas had herself declared that Europe could not take on a classic mediating role because the EU was firmly on Ukraine's side and was defending its own security interests.

The background to Kallas' comments is the current debate on whether the EU should become more involved in diplomatic efforts to end the war in Ukraine, given the lack of success of US President Donald Trump's peace initiative to date. EU states such as Austria are also calling for the appointment of an EU chief negotiator.