Despite agreeing to withdraw from the bank, Hungary expressed frustration at being pushed to do so. "We accept and understand that we represent different positions, but we don't understand why pressuring other states to change theirs is necessary," Foreign Minister Peter Szijjarto said at a press conference. "Hungary is a state, therefore it should be treated as one, instead of a colony." Washington has said Hungary had ignored U.S. concerns raised over the "opaque Kremlin platform", a bank that moved its headquarters to Budapest from Moscow in 2019. One representative at IIB had been Economic Development Minister Marton Nagy, sitting on the board of governors. Hungary, a NATO and European Union member, has fostered good ties with Moscow since 2010 under nationalist Prime Minister Viktor Orban, who has avoided personally criticising President Vladimir Putin despite condemning Russia's invasion of Ukraine. Orban's stance has been criticised by U.S. and European allies, and the U.S. has repeatedly called on Hungary to quit the IIB. The Czech Republic, Poland and Slovakia have completed their withdrawal from the IIB, while Romania will exit in June. At the end of January, Hungary held a 25.27% stake in IIB, the second biggest stake after Russia with 45.44% according to the bank's website. (Reporting by Krisztina Than and Gergely Szakacs; Editing by Peter Graff and Jonathan Oatis)
(Updates with foreign minister comment, government
confirmation)
BUDAPEST, April 13 (Reuters) - Hungary's government has
decided to withdraw its representatives from the
Russia-controlled International Investment Bank (IIB) and will
quit it, the Economic Development Ministry said on Thursday.
The decision comes a day after the United States imposed
sanctions on three top officials of IIB in Budapest: two
Russians and a Hungarian.
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