Péter Szijjártó, Minister of Foreign Affairs and Trade, said in Paris on Wednesday that the Hungarian government requests that the OECD take action to ensure that Ukraine removes Hungary's OTP Bank from its list of “international sponsors of war”.
According to a ministry statement, Minister Szijjártó told an OECD ministerial council meeting that the inclusion of OTP Bank on the list is “absolutely unfair” and “has nothing to do with reality”, adding that OTP had “not violated any regulations either in Ukraine or internationally”. He asked the OECD to intervene with a view to getting Ukraine to remove OTP from the list. He warned that keeping the bank on the list would raise “obstacles and challenges” to continued enhanced cooperation with Ukraine. The war in Ukraine is having an “absolutely serious” impact on neighbouring countries, Minister Szijjártó said, adding that Hungarians were also dying in the fighting. Hungary, therefore, has a vested interest in the war ending as soon as possible, he said. Minister Szijjártó said Hungary was undertaking the largest humanitarian aid operation in its history in connection with the war. The government backs the OECD’s support schemes in Ukraine, supports the reconstruction of hospitals and schools and contributes financially to the operation of key institutions on a bilateral basis, he added.