Hungary's foreign ministry summons Ukrainian ambassador over 'insult' on Budapest stance
April 7, 2022, 3:31 am

Hungary's foreign ministry summons Ukrainian ambassador over 'insult' on Budapest stance

Budapest in Hungary/Pixabay

The US News reported, citing Reuters, Hungary's foreign ministry summoned Ukraine's ambassador on Wednesday (6 Apr) over what it called offensive comments from Kyiv regarding Budapest's stance on Russia's invasion.

Foreign Minister Peter Szijjarto, in comments released three days after nationalist Prime Minister Viktor Orban was re-elected, said Hungary had condemned Russia's invasion, acknowledged Ukraine's sovereignty and taken in hundreds of thousands of refugees fleeing the war.

So it was "time for Ukrainian leaders to stop their insults directed at Hungary and acknowledge the will of the Hungarian people," Szijjarto said in a statement, referring to Sunday's landslide election win.

Szijjarto added, reiterating the stance that helped Orban win a fourth consecutive term: "This is not our war, so we want to and will stay out of it."

Ukrainian 93rd brigade (File photo: Euromaidan Press)

Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskiy on Tuesday said Orban feared Russia's influence and would have to choose between Moscow and the "other world".

Orban, who easily won what pollsters had until shortly before election day tipped to be a close vote, has condemned Russia's invasion, which the Kremlin describes as a "special military operation", and not vetoed European Union sanctions against Moscow.

Sajid Javid: The world must act to stop 'mass murder' in Ukraine

But he has refrained from criticising President Vladimir Putin directly and said he does not agree with sanctions, rejecting the idea of curbs on oil and gas imports from Russia, saying that would wreck Hungary's economy.

The EU moved quickly and decisively to impose an unprecedented range of sanctions on Moscow after the invasion, but has struggled to remain united over banning oil and gas imports because so many member states rely heavily on Russian energy.

Orban scored a landslide win in Sunday's election, as voters endorsed his self-declared vision of a conservative, illiberal state and shrugged off concerns over Budapest's decade-long close business ties with Moscow.

NATO says Russian troops regrouping, shifting their focus to the east to try to take Donbas region

Long a thorn in the side of European Union authorities in Brussels, Orban has faced rare criticism from his nationalist allies in neighbouring Poland over his cautious stance on the war.

Source: usnews

Australia will move away from reporting daily COVID-19 deaths Ukraine tells its people to flee homes in the east before Russia attacks

Upon arriving to participate in the summit of the European Political Community, which includes around forty heads of state in Budapest, he said, "I look forward to sitting with the elected U.S. president and seeing how we will collectively ensure we meet challenges, including the threats from Russia and North Korea." He also noted that the strengthening of ties between Russia and North Korea poses a threat to the United States as well, according to reports from Agence France-Presse.

Before Trump's victory, Rutte expressed confidence that a united Washington would remain part of the defensive alliance, even if Trump became the 47th president of the United States. In an interview with German public broadcaster ZDF last Monday night, he stated that both Republicans and Democrats understand that NATO serves not only the security of Europe but also that of America. He added that both candidates are aware that the security of the United States is closely tied to NATO.

On Wednesday, NATO congratulated Trump on his victory but did not address the Ukrainian issue.

It is noteworthy that the relationship between the elected U.S. president and the defense alliance was not the best during his first term in the White House. Trump criticized NATO member states multiple times and even hinted at withdrawing from the alliance unless they increased their financial contributions.

Additionally, the issue of the Russian-Ukrainian war is one of the matters that complicate relations between the two sides, especially since Trump has repeatedly stated that he can end this ongoing conflict, which began in 2022, quickly. He implied that he had a peace plan between Kyiv and Moscow, while his vice president, JD Vance, revealed aspects of that plan, which stipulated Ukraine's commitment not to join NATO, thereby sending reassuring signals to the Russians.

Furthermore, many NATO member states in Europe fear that Trump might halt military aid to Ukraine after he previously criticized the U.S. for pouring funds into supporting Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky.