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What is going on? Ukraine summoned the Hungarian ambassador
Tensions between Hungary and Ukraine have escalated again after Kyiv summoned Hungary’s ambassador, triggering a fresh round of sharp rhetoric and mutual accusations between the two governments ahead of Hungary’s April elections.
Ukraine has summoned the Hungarian ambassador
Hungarian Foreign Minister Péter Szijjártó confirmed on Wednesday that the Ukrainian Foreign Ministry had requested the presence of Hungary’s ambassador in Kyiv. Writing on Facebook, Szijjártó said the move did not come as a surprise, nor did the content of the meeting.
According to him, Ukrainian officials once again objected to the Hungarian government’s plan to launch a national petition allowing citizens to express their views on what Budapest describes as a “Brussels–Kyiv intention” to use Hungarian funds to support Ukraine’s operation and military efforts.
Big words from both sides
Szijjártó also complained that Kyiv offered no explanation for what he called offensive remarks made by Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky towards Prime Minister Viktor Orbán, nor for comments by Ukrainian Foreign Minister Andrii Sybiha that allegedly likened Orbán to historical figures associated with Nazism, reports Népszava.
What came before this:
Based on what was said during the diplomatic meeting, Szijjártó claimed Hungary should prepare for what he described as “open and crude interference” by Ukraine in support of the opposition Tisza Party during the upcoming elections.
The foreign minister stressed that Hungary would defend its sovereignty and would not allow any external actor to influence the outcome of its elections. While acknowledging that Ukraine may prefer a victory by the Tisza Party, he insisted that decisions about Hungary’s future, including the question of peace or war, belong exclusively to Hungarian voters.
The dispute is just the cherry on top in an increasingly hostile exchange between Budapest and Kyiv. The row intensified after President Zelensky, speaking at the World Economic Forum in Davos, urged European unity and delivered a pointed message aimed at Orbán, criticising leaders who, in his words, benefit from European funds while undermining European interests and showing sympathy towards Moscow. Orbán later described Zelensky as a leader under pressure who had failed to end the war for years.
Hungary is not willing to support Ukraine
Following an EU summit in Brussels, Orbán further hardened his stance by declaring that Hungary would not support Ukraine’s accession to the European Union for the next hundred years. In response, Andrii Sybiha accused the Hungarian prime minister of placing Hungary on the “wrong side of history”, remarks that were met with strong backlash from Budapest.
Earlier this week, Orbán accused the Ukrainian government of a “coordinated campaign” to interfere in Hungary’s elections and instructed Szijjártó to summon Ukraine’s ambassador in Budapest. After that meeting, the foreign minister publicly called on Ukraine to respect Hungary’s sovereignty and refrain from any involvement in its domestic political process.
Szijjarto wishes to suck and blow at the same time when he says that Hungary will not allow external actors to influence its’ election yet seeks to arrange for Donald Trump and CPAC to come to Hungary just before the election to promote Fidesz. These people are the biggest hypocrites and liars you can find and they really depend on Hungarians being stupid enough to believe what they say. As for another referendum this is just another example of the use of state funds to promote the interests of the political party in office with a politically suggestive questionnaire distorting facts right before the election.