Hungary escalates at the end of the NATO summit
At the NATO Summit, Hungary was isolated as a participant and showed little enthusiasm towards the decisions of the other member states in the aftermath. The EU country intends to continue its own way in dealing with Russia.
The Hungarian government accused NATO partners of hypocrisy and failure in handling the Russian aggression against Ukraine at the conclusion of the NATO summit in Washington. "We will continue to advocate for dialogue and diplomatic channels, as the current strategy of the past two and a half years has been a total failure," Foreign Minister Péter Szijjártó said, according to a spokesperson during a meeting with Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy.
Szijjártó represented Prime Minister Viktor Orbán, who left the summit early to meet former US President Donald Trump in Florida. Specifically, Szijjártó criticized the inconsistency of NATO refusing dialogue with Russia while Israel was being pressured to negotiate with Hamas. "They want Israel to negotiate with a terrorist organization to resolve a security crisis, while diplomatic channels for the Ukraine war are closed," he said.
Furthermore, Szijjártó criticized the inconsistency of putting pressure on EU countries like Hungary to end nuclear cooperation with Russia while US-Russian trade, particularly in the uranium sector, was increasing. He also raised the question of whether there might be secret negotiations. Regarding Hungary's application for NATO membership for Ukraine, Szijjártó stated that Ukraine's membership would weaken the alliance from the Hungarian perspective. It is therefore important to carefully examine the membership.
After the summit, participants reported that Hungary had been isolated in the discussion. Several allies also made it clear that they disagreed with the statements of the Hungarian Foreign Minister.
Viktor Orban, the prime minister of Hungary, left the NATO Summit early to meet with former US President Donald Trump in Florida, despite Hungary being isolated and showing little enthusiasm towards the decisions of other member states. Following the summit, Foreign Minister Péter Szijjártó criticized NATO's inconsistency in handling the Attack on Ukraine, stating that while they refuse dialogue with Russia, they pressure Israel to negotiate with Hamas.
