2024-07-07 02:37:52
Hungary is alienating its EU partners. Her counterpart is apparently avoiding a clarifying discussion with Foreign Minister Baerbock.
According to a source from the Foreign Office in Berlin, Hungary has cancelled a meeting between Federal Foreign Minister Annalena Baerbock (Greens) and her counterpart Peter Szijjarto in Budapest, which was scheduled for Monday. The Foreign Office regrets the cancellation, as “a serious and honest personal conversation between the two foreign ministers (…) would have been very important in view of Prime Minister Orbán’s surprise and uncoordinated trip to Moscow,” the ministry said. The trip will therefore be rescheduled for a later date.
Despite widespread criticism from the EU and Ukraine, Hungarian Prime Minister Viktor Orbán met Russian President Vladimir Putin in Moscow on Friday – just days after his country took over the EU Council Presidency – for talks on the war in Ukraine. Several top EU representatives and NATO Secretary General Jens Stoltenberg distanced themselves from Orbán’s trip.
Despite the war in Ukraine, Orbán continues to maintain close relations with Moscow and opposes the EU line. The pro-Russian head of government has repeatedly delayed sanctions against Russia and EU financial aid for Kyiv. He also criticized the opening of EU accession negotiations with Ukraine. The right-wing populist head of government had already met Putin in October 2023 at a summit in Beijing, which also sparked outrage in the EU.
Hungary took over the rotating presidency of the EU Council on Monday. On Tuesday, Orbán traveled to Kyiv for the first time since the Russian invasion of Ukraine in February 2022 and held talks with Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky. He urged Zelensky to agree to a temporary ceasefire with Russia. Zelensky rejected this and stressed that his country wanted a “just peace”.