Moscow has ordered a group of Hungarian diplomats to leave Russia within two weeks, in response to Hungary’s expulsion of 10 Russian diplomats last month, Russian news agency TASS reported. The exact number of Hungarians affected has not yet been disclosed.
Russia announces retaliatory expulsions
Russia has announced the expulsion of Hungarian diplomats following Hungary’s decision last month to order 10 Russian diplomatic staff to leave the country.
Hungary’s chargé d’affaires in Moscow, Gábor Gergics, was summoned to the Russian Foreign Ministry on Thursday morning and informed of the measures. According to the Russian ministry, staff members of the Hungarian Embassy in Moscow and the Hungarian consulates in St Petersburg and Kazan have been ordered to leave Russia within two weeks.
The Russian announcement did not specify how many Hungarian diplomats are affected. The move comes a bit more than three weeks after Hungary announced the expulsion of the 10 Russian diplomats. Russia has described its latest action as a retaliatory measure.
Hungary says it will maintain its diplomatic presence
Hungary’s Foreign Ministry said it had taken note of the Russian decision and described it as a response to Budapest’s earlier measure.
“The Hungarian government takes note of the Russian side’s decision, which we regard as a response to the previous Hungarian measure,” the ministry said.
“Hungary is not interested in an escalation of diplomatic tensions, while maintaining its previously taken decision based on national security considerations,” it added. The ministry also stressed that Hungary’s diplomatic missions in Russia would continue operating.
“The operation of our missions in Russia remains uninterrupted, and Hungary’s diplomatic presence in Russia will be maintained,” the statement said.
Budapest expelled 10 Russian diplomats in September
On 8 September, Foreign Minister Anita Orbán announced that Hungary had ordered 10 members of Russia’s diplomatic mission to leave the country.
According to the Hungarian government, the 10 individuals had engaged in activities that, in Hungary’s assessment, were unacceptable for diplomats under the Vienna Convention. The government did not officially describe the activities as espionage.
The decision represented an unusually large-scale expulsion of Russian diplomats by Hungary. It followed a quieter expulsion of a Russian diplomat in May, according to a previous report by VSquare.
Russia signalled at the time that it would respond. Foreign Ministry spokeswoman Maria Zakharova said the response would be “tough and painful”, while Kremlin spokesman Dmitry Peskov later said Moscow would give an “appropriate response”.
The Russian Foreign Ministry has now carried out that retaliatory measure.
Living, working or doing business in Hungary?
Make things easier with professional support in English. Explore Daily News Hungary’s Services in English and find the help you need.
Exact number of Hungarian diplomats remains unclear
For the time being, neither the Russian announcement nor the Hungarian Foreign Ministry’s statement has specified the exact number of Hungarian diplomats who have been ordered to leave. The Russian measure affects personnel at Hungary’s embassy in Moscow and its consulates in St Petersburg and Kazan.
Hungary has said that its diplomatic presence in Russia will remain in place despite the expulsions, meaning the latest move does not amount to a severing of diplomatic relations between the two countries.
