Ambassador: Ukraine aid package agreement is a victory for diplomacy
The agreement to send a €50 billion European Union aid package to Ukraine is a diplomatic victory over Hungarian Prime Minister Viktor Orban, said Estonia's Ambassador to Lithuania Kaimo Kuusk on Thursday.
"This €50 billion decision is a very big deal," said Kuusk, Estonia's former ambassador to Ukraine calling it a "diplomatic victory".
"For me, diplomacy is not about being polite. It is a stereotype. Diplomacy is the art of persuasion. You need to be able to make a proposal that the other party cannot refuse. And that came out very well. Various channels were sought to convince the Hungarians and they were not convinced," said Kuusk.
The diplomat said the work to convince the Hungarians took months.
"Even in Vilnius, we send messages that if your president goes and shakes hands with [Russian President Vladimir] Putin, the EU ambassadors will not come to your national holiday. And they didn't," he said, highlighting one example.
On Thursday, the EU announced all 27 members had agreed to send a €50 billion aid package to Ukraine. In December, Hungary blocked the plan.
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Editor: Aleksander Krjukov, Helen Wright
Source: Ringvaade
