During visit to US, Szijjártó presented with piece of Russian tank destroyed in Battle for Kyiv – photo

Oleksii Prokopenko, Head of the US-based Humanitarian Centre for Ukraine in the United States (HUCUS), has presented Hungarian Foreign Minister Péter Szijjártó with a piece of a Russian tank that had been destroyed in the Battle of Kyiv.

Source: Ukrinform news agency, as reported by European Pravda

Details: This happened during the European Conference at Harvard University in Massachusetts. It brought together European diplomats and officials, students and scholars from the United States and the European Union.

Photo: Oleksii Prokopenko

Photo: Oleksii Prokopenko

The conference, which takes place on 9-10 February, features panel discussions on EU policy, global economic issues and challenges, the situation in energy markets, and Russia's war against Ukraine.

"It (the tank – ed.) was made in Russia but destroyed and recycled in Ukraine. Carry this (the piece of tank) as a keyring with your house keys to stay aware of what Russian terror is. Please remember the lessons of history and what Soviet tanks brought to the streets of Budapest in 1956," Prokopenko said, handing the gift to Szijjártó.

In a comment to European Pravda, Prokopenko explained that Péter Szijjártó reacted to the gift in a "restrained and diplomatic manner".

"The minister emphasised that his country wants peace in Ukraine, but I did not hear him say the word 'victory'. Besides, Szijjártó noted that he remembers the lessons of 1956 well and that his family also experienced those events," Prokopenko said.

In addition, Prokopenko reported that Szijjártó added that Hungary was taking care of Ukrainian refugees, nearly a million of whom live there.

Background: Szijjártó himself has previously noted that he believes it is unfair that the Hungarian authorities are labelled "Putin's friends" when they are simply raising "strategic issues".

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