Russia Another scandal at the end: Hungary provokes at NATO summit
At the end of the NATO summit in Washington, the Hungarian government accused its NATO partners of double standards and failure in dealing with the Russian war of aggression against Ukraine.
12.07.2024, 05:13
SDA
"We will continue to advocate dialog and diplomatic channels, as the current strategy of the last two and a half years has been a total failure," said Foreign Minister Peter Szijjarto in a meeting with Ukrainian President Volodymyr Selenskyj, according to a spokesman. Szijjarto was there to represent Prime Minister Viktor Orban, who had left the summit early to meet former US President Donald Trump in Florida.
Specifically, Szijjarto criticized that it was inconsistent for NATO to reject dialogue with Russia while Israel was being urged to negotiate with Hamas.
"They want Israel to negotiate with a terrorist organization in order to solve a security crisis, while the diplomatic channels for the Ukraine war are closed," he said.
Suspicion of secret negotiations
Szijjarto also criticized as inconsistent the pressure being exerted on EU countries such as Hungary to end nuclear cooperation with Russia, while trade between the USA and Russia, particularly in the uranium sector, is increasing. He also raised the question of whether there might be secret negotiations.
With regard to Ukraine's wish to join NATO, Szijjarto said that, from Hungary's perspective, Ukraine's membership of NATO could weaken the alliance. It was therefore important to examine membership carefully.
NATO partners disagree
Participants in the meeting said after the summit that Hungary had been isolated in the discussion. Several allies had also made it clear that they did not agree with the statements made by the Hungarian Foreign Minister.
Orban's trip to Trump had already caused discussion at the summit before his foreign minister's speech. Like Orban, the former US president, who is now running again in the presidential election after being voted out of office four years ago, is considered open to negotiations with Russian President Vladimir Putin. After a meeting in March, Orban described Trump as the "president of peace", while the American praised the Hungarian as the "best leader" ever.
Scholz gets a question about Orban
Before his trip to the USA, Orban had visited Ukraine, Russia and then China as part of what he described as a "peace mission".
This caused a stir in Brussels in particular, as Hungary currently holds the rotating presidency of the EU Council and the Kremlin exploited the visit to Moscow for its propaganda.
However, German Chancellor Olaf Scholz rejected calls for consequences such as a premature end to Hungary's presidency of the Council. "There are no such considerations," he told the press after the summit.
