Diplomatic conflict between the USA and Hungary worsened: Orbán helps Putin redraw Europe’s map?
The ambassador of the USA in Budapest, David Pressman, suggested in a yesterday evening tweet that the Hungarian government helps Russia redraw Europe’s borders.
Szijjártó-Pressman duel
The diplomatic conflict between Hungary and the USA over the ongoing war in Ukraine and Kyiv’s Western military and financial help is worsening. Péter Szijjártó, the foreign minister of Hungary, said yesterday that nobody could tell Hungary from the outside how Hungarians should live. He added that it was “of no interest” what Pressman or any ambassador thought about domestic political trends in Hungary. The remark came after Pressman’s comments to Politico: “political leaders in the government of Hungary often speak of promoting peace, but – from condemning sanctions to embracing Russian ‘cease-fire’ proposals – they continue to push policies endorsed by Putin.”
Pressman answered Szijjártó’s response yesterday in a post published on his official Twitter account. “Respectfully, we do not consider Russia’s attempt to unilaterally redraw the borders of Europe as just a “domestic political development in Hungary”, he tweeted. By writing that, he probably meant that from the outside, it seems that Orbán helps Putin realise its aims in Europe concerning a map redrawal.
Respectfully, we do not consider Russia’s attempt to unilaterally redraw the borders of Europe as just a “domestic political development in Hungary.” pic.twitter.com/UWCtFhc4Dl
— Ambassador David Pressman (@USAmbHungary) February 2, 2023
The tweet might also suggest the USA believes the Russian president would not stop at the borders of Ukraine. Yesterday the foreign minister of the Republic of Moldova, a country located between Romania and Ukraine, having a Russian minority and a separatist state filled with Russian troops, expressed concerns over a possible Russian attack since Russian FM Lavrov labelled it as the new “anti-Russia”, Meduza wrote.
Szijjártó and Pressman in Japan:
No sign of a possible conflict before
Interestingly, as the US Embassy in Hungary wrote, the foreign minister and the ambassador met for a working lunch last Friday. They discussed a wide range of bilateral and regional priorities, including energy diversification, Russia’s war in Ukraine, and the US-Hungary partnership as NATO Allies.
“In this important moment in U.S.-Hungary relations, it was great to meet with Foreign Minister Péter Szijjártó to continue our discussion about the challenges our countries should confront together and opportunities to strengthen our partnership”, Mr Pressman said then. There was no sign of a possible conflict, the Politico article appeared after their meeting. That was the situation when they met last September in Japan. Szijjártó said their joint aim was to develop US-Hungary ties.
Read alsoDiplomatic conflict between the USA and Hungary worsened: Orbán helps Putin redraw Europe’s map?
Source: Politico, Meduza, hu.usembassy.com