An embarrassing response to a Ukrainian request for arms: We will not pay the price of war

Hungary rejected on Friday a request by Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky to provide Ukraine with arms and support sanctions on Russia's energy sector.

Hungarian Prime Minister Viktor Orban said in a video clip posted on social media that Zelensky's requests "contradict Hungary's interests", and that sanctions on the Russian energy sector "would mean that the Hungarian economy would slow down and then stop within moments," according to "Sky News Arabia".

The Hungarian refusal came after Zelensky addressed a meeting of European Union leaders in Brussels on Thursday, specifically addressing Orban, whose country is Russian President Vladimir Putin's closest ally in the European Union.

Zelensky addressed his words to Orban, saying: "Listen, Victor, do you know what is happening in Mariupol? I want to be open once and for all, you must decide for yourself what your position is," according to the Associated Press.

Hungary, alone among the European Union countries bordering Ukraine, has refused to supply arms to its neighbor and has refused to allow arms shipments to cross its border into Ukraine.

Orbán said that 85 percent of Hungarian gas and more than 60 percent of its oil comes from Russia, and that blocking Russian energy exports would force Hungarians to "pay the price of war."

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