Hungarian and Polish Foreign Ministers clash on social media over Putin and Budapest
Photo: Hungarian Foreign Minister Péter Szijjártó (Flickr)
Hungarian Foreign Minister Péter Szijjártó attempted to mock Poland and its court system but faced a sharp response from his counterpart, Polish Foreign Minister Radosław Sikorski, according to Szijjártó’s post on Twitter (X) and Sikorski’s reply.
Szijjártó published a response to a post by the Visegrad 24 channel, which quoted Sikorski saying that Poland could detain Russian President Vladimir Putin’s plane, with Polish courts potentially granting the necessary permission.
"Is Radosław Sikorski talking about the independent court which, on Tusk’s orders (Polish Prime Minister Donald Tusk), refused to extradite the terrorist who blew up the Nord Stream 2 pipeline?" Szijjártó wrote.
In response, Sikorski said he was proud of the Polish court, which ruled that "sabotage against an invader is not a crime." He also reminded Szijjártó of the sabotage of the Druzhba pipeline, an event that previously caused considerable uproar in Budapest.
"Moreover, I hope your brave compatriot, Major Magyar, finally succeeds in knocking out the oil pipeline that feeds Putin's war machine and you get your oil via Croatia," Sikorski wrote.
Poland refused to extradite a Ukrainian citizen to Germany
On October 17, a Polish court denied Germany’s request to extradite Ukrainian citizen Volodymyr Zhuravliov, who is suspected of involvement in the Nord Stream pipeline sabotage.
Earlier, Poland’s Coordinator of Special Services, Tomasz Siemoniak, commented that "there are no grounds for hasty actions" regarding the extradition. Polish Prime Minister Donald Tusk also stated outright that handing over the Ukrainian citizen to Germany would not be in the country’s interests.
Strikes on the Druzhba pipeline and Hungary’s uproar
Ukraine carried out the first strikes on the Druzhba pipeline in the second half of August and continued targeting the pipeline’s infrastructure until the end of the month. For example, on the night of August 18, the Unmanned Systems Forces struck the Nikolskoe pumping station in the Tambov region. After the station was repaired, it was hit again.
The attacks on Druzhba caused an uproar in Hungary, but other European Union countries ignored Budapest’s outcry.
Warsaw threatens Putin with arrest
Щn October 21, Sikorski warned of the possible arrest of Russian President Vladimir Putin if his plane were to enter Polish airspace while flying to Budapest for a summit with US President Donald Trump.
In 2023, the International Criminal Court in The Hague issued an arrest warrant for Putin. Russia stated that it does not recognize the ICC’s decision, but the Kremlin’s opinion on the matter is of no concern to anyone.
