Nato summit: Hungary criticizes dealings with Russia

At the end of the alliance summit in Washington, the Hungarian government accused NATO partners of double standards and failure in dealing with Russia’s war of aggression against Ukraine. “We will continue to advocate dialogue 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, according to a spokesman, in a meeting with Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky. Szijjarto represented Prime Minister Viktor Orban, who had left the summit early to meet former US President Donald Trump in Florida.

Specifically, Szijjarto criticized the inconsistency of NATO rejecting dialogue with Russia while Israel is being pressured to negotiate with Hamas.

“They want Israel to negotiate with a terrorist organization to resolve a security crisis while diplomatic channels are closed for the Ukraine war,” he said.

Hungary skeptical about Ukraine in NATO

Szijjarto also criticised the inconsistency of pressure being put on EU countries such as Hungary to end nuclear cooperation with Russia, while trade between the US and Russia, particularly in the area of ​​uranium, is increasing. He also asked whether there might be secret negotiations.

Regarding Ukraine’s desire to join NATO, Szijjarto said that from Hungary’s point of view, NATO membership for Ukraine could weaken the alliance. It is therefore important to examine membership carefully.

NATO partners disagree

After the summit, participants said that Hungary had been isolated during 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 sparked discussions at the summit before his foreign minister’s speech. The former US president, who is now running for president again after being voted out of office four years ago, is considered, like Orban, to be 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.

Orban posted a photo of the meeting, which took place at Trump’s Mar-a-Lago estate, on X and wrote: “Peace Mission 5.0 (…) We discussed ways to #peace. The good news of the day: He will solve it!”

Orban’s trip, which he described as a “peace mission”, had taken him to Ukraine, Russia and China before the USA.

Scholz receives question about Orban

This caused a stir, especially in Brussels, because Hungary currently holds the rotating EU Council Presidency and the Kremlin exploited the Moscow visit for its propaganda purposes.

However, Chancellor Olaf Scholz rejected calls for consequences such as an early end to the Hungarian Council Presidency. “There are no such considerations,” he told the press after the summit.