Hungary FM warns NATO that Ukraine-bound weapons may end up in Africa

By Al Mayadeen English
Source: Agencies
1 Jun 2023 22:44

Since the start of Russia's special military operation in Ukraine, Hungary has repeatedly expressed its rejection of sanctions on Russian energy carriers as well as the provision of military assistance to Ukraine.

Hungarian Foreign Minister Peter Szijjarto attends a news conference at the Itamaraty Palace in Brasilia, Brazil October 8, 2019. (Reuters)

NATO must be mindful of concerns expressed by African nations that weapons delivered to Ukraine may end up in the Sahel and escalate tensions in the region, Hungarian Foreign Minister Peter Szijjarto after the meeting of NATO foreign ministries in Oslo.

"There is a growing fear and concern among some countries in Africa that weapons sent in large quantities to Ukraine might one day appear in the Sahel or other fragile, unstable regions of the continent because if that were to happen in the future, it would mean serious security risks and could lead to armed clashes," Szijjarto said.

Since the start of the war in Ukraine, Hungary has expressed its rejection of sanctions on Russian energy carriers as well as the provision of military assistance to Ukraine.

The Hungarian parliament in March 2022 passed a law prohibiting the delivery of arms to Ukraine from Hungarian territory.

The reason was that Hungary seeks to protect the Zakarpattia region in Ukraine where ethnic Hungarians reside.

Szijjarto explained that the supply of weapons through this region may jeopardize the lives of ethnic Hungarians in the region. Therefore, the bill was passed in order to guarantee their security.

In December 2022, Denis Pushilin, acting head of the Donetsk People's Republic (DPR), said as quoted by Sputnik that foreign weapons being supplied to Ukraine, including Javelin anti-tank systems, are sold on the black market, most notably to Africa.

"I haven’t seen anything new lately, but the arms that continue to come to Ukraine can now be easily bought. And now Ukraine is becoming one of the central suppliers of weapons on the black market, on the dark market you can buy the weapons that are supplied to Ukraine as part of assistance and support by Western countries," Pushilin stressed.

This, according to the acting DPR head, also includes Javelins, which are now simple to find on the dark market.

"This kind of weaponry is being moved in large quantities to African countries, too," Pushilin said.

Earlier that month, former Nigerian President Muhammadu Buhari warned that weapons supplied to Ukraine from Western countries are "starting to flow" into the Lake Chad basin region.

Addressing the heads of state from neighboring states participating in the Lake Chad Basin Commission in the Nigerian capital of Abuja, the president said, "Regrettably, the situation in the Sahel and the raging war in Ukraine serve as major sources of weapons and fighters that bolster the ranks of the terrorists in the region."

In August 2022, an American news outlet unmasked that a shockingly large amount of weaponry heading for Ukraine was untraceable. "Like 30% of it reaches its final destination," said a tweet that was later deleted after a swarm of online trolls attacked it.

Russian Defense Minister Sergei Shoigu had previously said the arms supplied by the West to Ukraine were ending up on the black market and spreading across West Asia.