Mádyar Criticized the Alliance with the Kremlin During Orbán's Time in Office
Hungarian Prime Minister Péter Magyar sharply criticized the foreign policy of the Viktor Orbán administration—particularly its close ties with Russia—during a speech in parliament on June 23.
During his speech in Parliament, Magyar stated that the previous administration’s policy was too closely aligned with the Kremlin and ran counter to Hungary’s interests in regional partnerships.
He emphasized that one of his government’s priorities would be to develop cooperation within the “Visegrad Four” framework, which includes Hungary, Poland, the Czech Republic, and Slovakia.
Following the discussion, representatives of the Fidesz party partially endorsed the importance of this regional cooperation framework; however, Mádár responded by intensifying his criticism.
“You have chosen (as a partner instead of the ‘Visegrad Group’) Vladimir Putin and Russia,” Magyar stated, emphasizing that this was categorically unacceptable to Poland.
In his speech, the prime minister also mentioned Foreign Minister Péter Szijjártó, noting that he had received an award from Russian Foreign Minister Sergey Lavrov, which, according to Magyar, “is probably now hanging on his fridge like a magnet.”
The parliamentary debate took place amid preparations for the upcoming Visegrad Group summit, which, according to Mádár, is an important element of his government’s foreign policy.
The speech effectively highlighted the intensifying domestic political confrontation in Hungary over the course of relations with Russia and the EU.
This was reported by Index.
As a reminder, Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy and Hungary’s new Prime Minister Péter Magyar may meet in the near future. The Ukrainian Ministry of Foreign Affairs confirmed that preparations for the talks are underway and that the signs regarding their holding are positive.
The foreign ministers of Ukraine and Hungary, Andriy Sibiga and Anita Orbán, held their first in-person meeting on May 22. During the talks in Helsingborg, the parties agreed to hold a second round of expert-level consultations next week to further discuss bilateral issues.
Earlier, the Hungarian government commented on the massive attack by Russian drones on Zakarpattia, during which the region’s critical infrastructure was targeted. Budapest described the situation in the border region as extremely alarming and announced that it was preparing urgent countermeasures.
