Ukraine protested to the Hungarian ambassador against Prime Minister Viktor Orban’s “derogatory” remarks and called on Budapest to end the “anti-Ukrainian” rhetoric.
Last week, a Foreign Ministry spokesman noted that in an interview with reporters, Orban said Ukraine was a no-man’s land and compared it to Afghanistan.
Ambassador István Ijgyarto “strongly protested against recent derogatory statements by Hungarian Prime Minister Viktor Orban”, the ministry said.
“The Hungarian diplomat underlined that the anti-Ukrainian rhetoric, long heard by Hungarian leaders, is absolutely unacceptable and causes serious damage to Ukrainian-Hungarian relations.”
“The Hungarian side was called upon to stop this negative trend in order to avoid irreparable consequences for the relations between the two countries,” the agency added.
Hungary has criticized EU sanctions imposed on Russia in connection with Moscow’s invasion of Ukraine, saying they have not significantly weakened Moscow and could destroy Europe’s economy.
Last year, Budapest decided not to send arms to Ukraine.
