FM Szijjártó: Ukraine supporting the Tisza Party with aggressive interference campaign

Ukraine’s ambassador was summoned to the foreign ministry on Tuesday, the minister of foreign affairs and trade said in Pécs, in southern Hungary. The government “will not tolerate any interference in Hungary’s elections, including Ukraine’s attempts … to intervene in the electoral process in favour of the Tisza Party,” he said.

Open, shameless and aggressive interference campaign

Péter Szijjártó said, according to a ministry statement, that Ukraine had engaged “in an open, shameless and aggressive interference campaign” in recent weeks, with the objective of aiding Tisza’s victory at the elections on April 12.

During the meeting, the ambassador was told clearly that “Hungary will not tolerate election interference.”

“Our deputy minister told the ambassador in no uncertain terms that Hungary will protect its sovereignty with every tool at is disposal … it will protect the right of Hungarians to be the only ones to decide over Hungary’s future,” he said.

Szijjártó said that Tisza would “immediately green-light Ukraine’s EU accession” if the party won the elections. “They would say yes to Brussels dragging Hungary to war and … to funnelling Hungarians’ money into operating the Ukrainian state,” he said.

Hungarian families or Brussels?

“The decision about Hungary’s future is made in Hungary, not in Brussels and certainly not in Kyiv.”

That decision was at stake at the elections on April 12, Szijjártó said. Further, “it is at stake … whether Hungarians’ money will be used for the benefit of Hungarian families or Brussels will be allowed to send it to Ukraine,” he said.

“We are forcefully calling on Ukraine to stop interfering with the Hungarian election procedure in favour of Tisza and to respect Hungary’s sovereignty; we, the patriotic sovereign government of Hungary, will protect that sovereignty with all tools at our disposal,” he said.

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