Orbán accuses Ukraine of election interference: Ukrainian envoy called in
Photo: Viktor Orbán, Prime Minister of Hungary (Getty Images)
Hungarian Prime Minister Viktor Orbán accused Ukraine of attempting to interfere in the country’s parliamentary elections and ordered the Ukrainian ambassador to be summoned to the Foreign Ministry in Budapest, according to Orbán’s statement on Facebook.
According to the Hungarian prime minister, last week Ukrainian politicians and even President Volodymyr Zelenskyy "made crude insults and threats against Hungary and the Hungarian government."
"Our national security agencies analyzed this latest Ukrainian attack and concluded that these events are part of a coordinated series of actions by Ukraine aimed at interfering in Hungary’s elections, but we cannot allow anyone to jeopardize Hungary’s sovereignty or the integrity of Hungarian elections," Orbán said.
He added that today, January 26, he instructed the country’s foreign minister, Péter Szijjártó, to summon the Ukrainian ambassador to Hungary.
"We will defend Hungary’s sovereignty and interests," the Hungarian prime minister stated.
On January 23, Péter Szijjártó said that Ukraine was allegedly trying to influence the formation of the Hungarian government and force it to follow Brussels’ positions.
Earlier, Orbán stated that he sees no possibility of Ukraine joining the EU in the foreseeable future. He suggested that Hungary will not have a parliament "within the next 100 years" that would vote in favor of it.
The Hungarian prime minister also accused the Ukrainian authorities of attempting to destabilize his government. According to him, Kyiv is "interested in changing Hungary’s political leadership to one more favorable to it."
Ukraine’s foreign minister, Andrii Sybiha, compared Viktor Orbán to a henchman of German Führer Adolf Hitler. He stated that by blocking Ukraine’s EU accession, Orbán is committing a crime against the Hungarian people and Hungary itself.
