Defence ministry rejects remarks suggesting Russian involvement in migration crisis

Budapest, October 12 (MTI) – Hungary’s defence ministry has rejected allegations by the Liberal Party that Istvan Simicsko, the minister, had suggested in a conversation with his Czech counterpart that Russia had provided buses to help illegal migrants to the European Union’s external borders.

Anett Bosz, executive of the Liberal Party, told a press conference on Monday that Martin Stropnicky, the Czech defence minister, quoted Simicsko as talking about Russia’s involvement.

Stropnicky’s statement, or the way it was interpreted in the Czech press, is “an obvious misunderstanding”, the ministry said in its statement. Simicsko “has not made such a remark”, the statement added.

Czech daily Mlada Fronta Dnes published an interview with Stropnicky at the weekend in which he said, allegedly citing information from his Hungarian colleague, that Russia may be financing buses transporting migrants from the Balkans to western Europe.

Source: http://mtva.hu/hu/hungary-matters