Prime Minister Bart De Wever reaffirmed his full support for Ukraine in the war with Russia in front of the international press cameras on Thursday, ahead of the start of a European summit in Brussels.
De Wever caused a stir last weekend with an interview in the newspaper L’Echo in which he called for a normalisation of relations with Russia and the purchase of Russian gas. After the Prime Minister had already clarified his position in Belgium over the past few days, he also emphasised to the international press on Thursday that normalisation can only take place after a lasting peace agreement.
However, according to De Wever, the European Union must also have a negotiating strategy to prevent the war from dragging on for years. “It is not normal that we finance the war but are not present at the negotiating table,” stated the Prime Minister, pointing out that Italian Prime Minister Giorgia Meloni and French President Emmanuel Macron, among others, have already made that point.
For De Wever, the fact that Moscow does not want the EU at the negotiating table is therefore a reason to keep the pressure on Russia high. For instance, Belgium supports the approval of new European sanctions against Moscow. In addition, he emphasised that Hungarian Prime Minister Viktor Orban must keep his word and lift his veto against the €90 billion European loan for Ukraine.
“This is unacceptable. This was a political decision and it must now be implemented (…) Pacta sunt servanda,” stated De Wever. According to the prime minister, Orban’s stance must be viewed in light of the upcoming Hungarian elections on April 12, and the EU is approaching the problem in that manner as well.
But in any case, Kyiv must be given the credit. “I think there are solutions, but it is not up to me to speak about that,” he added.
