By KYIV. May 13 (Interfax-Ukraine) – Hungarian Foreign Minister Peter Szijjarto said he would not discuss the next package of sanctions as long as the Hungarian OTP Bank is on the list of international sponsors of the war in Ukraine, Euronews reports.
“It’s scandalous and unacceptable that OTP Bank was included in the list of international sponsors of the war in Ukraine. It’s outrageous, it’s a scandal,” he said at an informal meeting of EU foreign ministers in Stockholm.
He also said that the activities of the financial institution are in line with international expectations and legislation. Szijjarto stressed that the listing could also affect the issue of EU sanctions against Russia.
“I made it clear at the meeting of foreign ministers that it will be very difficult for us to even enter into negotiations on the 11th package of sanctions while OTP is on this Ukrainian list. We demand that the Ukrainians remove OTP Bank from this list,” he said. .
On May 4, the National Agency on Corruption Prevention (NACP) included the Hungarian OTP Bank in the list of international sponsors of the war. This decision was made due to the position of the bank’s management to continue its activities in Russia and the actual recognition of the terrorist organizations DPR and LPR.
According to the NACP, OTP is one of the 50 largest banks in Russia, it serves more than 2.2 million customers and is represented in more than 1,850 settlements of the aggressor country.
