On October 25, the Ministry of Foreign Affairs of Hungary summoned the ambassador of Croatia in connection with the statements of the Croatian minister Ivan Anušić regarding the position of Budapest in relation to Ukraine. About this informs Telex.
The controversy began after Anušić spoke at a committee meeting of the Croatian Parliament, where he criticized Croatian President Zoran Milanović for refusing to send Croatian troops to the NATO Training Mission for Ukraine (NSATU). Anušić noted that Milanović’s position brings Croatia closer to countries such as Serbia and Hungary, which show support for Russia.
“Do we want to side with Serbia and Hungary, which are now publicly supporting Putin? Do we want to be part of that team and that world, or part of the world we now belong to, the Western world, Western values, Western civilization and Western democracy?“, the minister asked.
In response, Hungarian Foreign Minister Peter Szijarto expressed surprise, saying that Hungary seeks friendly relations with neighboring countries, including Croatia. He emphasized that Anušić’s comments were unacceptable and that the Hungarian side had nothing to do with the internal disputes between the Croatian government and the president.
“I respectfully ask the Croatian government not to involve us in its obviously heated internal political disputes with the president“, Sijarto said, stressing that such comments undermine bilateral relations between the countries.
Later, the Ministry of Foreign Affairs of Hungary confirmed that Croatian Ambassador Mladen Andrlic held a meeting with the Deputy Secretary of State for Regional Affairs to discuss the situation.
