Hungary expects more respect from Croatian politicians spreading fake news, says ministry

An official of the foreign ministry said Hungary expected more respect from Croatian politicians who had voiced baseless criticism and spread fake news about Prime Minister Viktor Orbán in recent days.

Tamáés Menczer, state secretary for communication and Hungary’s international image, said on the ministry’s Facebook page that Hungary had made a major contribution to the success of the Croatian economy, with 644,000 Hungarians spending 3.2 million guest nights there last year, Hungarian oil and gas company MOL “involved in the largest investment in Croatia” and the Hungarian Electricity Works MVM “about to buy 6.75 billion cubic metres of gas from the LNG terminal on Krk Island”.

“Considering the above, we expect more respect from Croatian politicians voicing baseless criticism and spreading fake news about Hungary,” he added.

Menczer said their behaviour was “especially difficult to understand at a time when consultations are under way about opening borders, an extremely important move for the Croatian tourism season”.

Orbán recently posted a video on Facebook showing a plaque on the newly inaugurated Trianon memorial in Sátoraljaújhely with the words “Fiume [Rijeka] – To the sea, Hungarians!”.

Some Croatian press reports have mistranslated it as “the Hungarian sea” and called the sign a provocation.

The Croatian foreign ministry said it expected an explanation from the Hungarian embassy in Zagreb.

Source: MTI