On January 24, a diplomatic dispute between Ukrainian Foreign Minister Andriy Sybiga and the Hungarian authorities escalated on the social network X after Hungarian Prime Minister Viktor Orban’s statement that he was ready to block Ukraine’s entry into the European Union for a hundred years.
The public conflict began after Orban said that in Hungary over the next 100 years, “there will be no parliament that would vote for Ukraine’s entry into the EU.”
In response to this statement, Andriy Sybiga said that such plans were doomed to failure, since, according to him, “Orban’s master” in Moscow will not be able to hold power for a century.
The comment of the Ukrainian minister was responded by Hungarian Foreign Minister Péter Szijjártó, who accused Szijjártó of interfering in domestic political processes and elections in Hungary.
“We know that you want a government that would say “yes” to Brussels and would be ready to drag Hungary into your war. But we will not allow this! The sovereign Hungarian government will continue to defend the country and its people from your war! Hungary first!, ”Szijjártó wrote.
In reply Szijjártó published a detailed statement with sharp criticism of Viktor Orbán’s actions and a call for the Hungarian minister to “call a spade a spade”.
“When Viktor Orbán says that he will not allow Ukraine to join the EU for the next 100 years, he is not actually addressing the Ukrainian state. First of all, he is saying this to the ethnic Hungarians in Transcarpathia. This sounds like a Freudian slip, referring to a peace treaty signed over 100 years ago, which was tragic for the Hungarians. This is the height of your cynicism, ” – wrote Szibiga.
The Ukrainian Foreign Minister also stated that Orban and his entourage do not care about the safety and well-being of Hungarians living in Ukraine, but use them as a tool for their own geopolitical projects. According to him, this is about attempts to “hold them hostage to their geopolitical adventures and continue to launder money through various foreign schemes and funds – to build another football stadium or a new private zoo with zebras.”
This statement is a reference to the corruption scandal in Hungary related to Orban’s estate, on the territory of which journalists discovered a private zoo with exotic animals.
Sybiga emphasized that the European Union is a space of peace, and Ukraine’s membership in the EU will contribute to strengthening security and stability on the continent, and will also benefit all European peoples, including Hungarians.
“But this not what Putin wants. He wants the war to continue. By blocking Ukraine’s membership in the EU, Orban is fulfilling Putin’s wish. At the same time, Orban is blocking the restoration of peace in Europe and turning Hungary into an accomplice of the Kremlin regime. Today, Orban is acting not even as Miklós Horthy, but as Hitler’s henchman Ferenc Sálasz. This is a lesson from World War II, ”Szibiga wrote.
The minister also added that such a policy does not correspond to the values of Hungarian society, emphasizing that “the Hungarian people are a people of dignity and freedom, the people of Ferenc Rákóczi II, Sándor Petőfi and Imre Nagy, not Orban”.
