Italian PM says her remarks on Orbán's stance on Ukraine were misinterpreted

Italian Prime Minister Giorgia Meloni has said comments she made about Hungarian Prime Minister Viktor Orbán's position on blocking an EU loan to Ukraine have been misrepresented by the media.

Source: European Pravda, citing comments Meloni made after a European Council meeting on 19 March

Details: Meloni stressed that much of the discussion during the meeting had focused on Hungary's blocking of the €90 billion loan for Ukraine.

She also said she found it strange how her "understanding" of Orbán's position had been interpreted in media reports the previous day.

Meloni said she had come across what she described as rather odd interpretations of her remarks and was therefore happy to clarify what she actually said. She believes the situation can be resolved and that flexibility is needed from both sides to achieve this. In her view, the Druzhba pipeline needs to resume operations, after which the €90 billion loan will be automatically unblocked.

Background:

• Politico reported yesterday, citing sources, that Meloni had told fellow EU leaders at the summit that she understood why Orbán had gone back on his word and blocked the loan to Ukraine. The Italian government later denied these reports.
• As previously reported, EU leaders discussed granting Ukraine a €90 billion EU loan on 19 March but failed to persuade Orbán to lift his veto.
• Orbán said on the sidelines of a European Council meeting in Brussels that Hungary will not lift its veto on decisions favourable to Ukraine until the flow of Russian oil via the Druzhba pipeline resumes.

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