Economy 19 October 2023, 4:31pm

Ambassadors of NATO member states summoned over Hungary

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The ambassadors of NATO member states and Sweden's ambassador to Budapest met on Thursday morning after Hungarian Prime Minister Viktor Orban met with Russian President Vladimir Putin in Beijing, China, Radio Free Europe / Radio Liberty reported. The leaders of the transatlantic defence alliance are concerned how close Hungarian-Russian relations remain regardless of the opposition between the West and the Eastern bloc.

David Pressman, the U.S. Ambassador in Budapest, told RFE/RL that in addition to the Hungarian Prime Minister's visit to China, the visit of Foreign Minister Péter Szijjártó to Moscow is also a cause for concern within NATO.

are all concerned that the Hungarian Prime Minister met with President Putin while Russia is at war with Ukraine as an aggressor,

said Pressman.

Asked whether the discussion focused on Hungary blocking Sweden's accession to NATO or the Russian rapprochement, the ambassador said that Orbán's meeting with Putin was the main topic.

"It is worrying that Hungary has chosen to engage with Putin in this way. As is the language used by the Prime Minister to describe Putin's war in Ukraine. Both deserved to be discussed."

Note that in the face-to-face meeting Orbán referred to the Russian invasion as a "military operation", kind of finding the middle way between calling it a war (a term Moscow made a criminal offence by law) and using the official Russian terminus technicus "special military operation".

The paper asked Pressman what consequences could today's meeting would be for Hungary, and also about reports that Western NATO member states are reluctant to share sensitive information with Hungarians for fear of passing it on to the Russians. The ambassador declined to answer either.

The Ambassador expressed concern about the way the Hungarian side communicates about the Russian-Ukrainian war and the West in general:

The security concerns raised by the United States and our allies are regularly deflected by the Hungarian government by claiming that we are actually attacking it for its divisive cultural positions. But of course this is not true.

"I don't think anyone is convinced by the government's overtures in this direction, by the way. But if we have legitimate security concerns, we will communicate those concerns to our allies and expect them to take them seriously," he added.

"We consider Hungary as an ally, but we also see Hungary deepening its relationship with Russia despite its brutal war in Ukraine. We think it is important to maintain a dialogue with the Hungarian government and the Hungarian people about these decisions," the ambassador said in response to a question about what would have to happen for Hungary to no longer be seen as an ally.