Sijarto in Moscow for the 13th time in 3 years: Orbán's chief diplomat seeks a record in contacts with the Kremlin
Kyiv • UNN
Peter Szijjarto made his 13th visit to Moscow since the beginning of Russia's full-scale aggression against Ukraine. EU officials are surprised by the frequent contacts between the Hungarian minister's frequent contacts with the Kremlin.
46-year-old Péter Szijjártó (Szijjártó Péter) has become the face of Hungary's pro-Russian policy. Another visit of a member of Orbán's team to the capital of Russia took place a few hours after the US stated that Russia and Ukraine had agreed to a ceasefire in the Black Sea.
UNN reports with reference to Bloomberg.
Hungarian Foreign Minister Péter Szijjártó has made his 13th visit to Moscow since the beginning of Russian aggression against Ukraine. This frequency of visits to Russia and contacts with the Kremlin, as Bloomberg notes, has already "caused surprise among some European officials". On condition of anonymity, they commented on the policy of the Hungarian Ministry of Foreign Affairs in contacts with the Russian Federation.
Even foreign ministers of some of Moscow's closest allies do not travel to Russia with such regularity, while Western allies have severed ties or sharply reduced reciprocal contacts.
Donald Trump's return to the White House only encourages the intensity of contacts between Hungary and Russia. This very thing is driving a deeper wedge in relations within the EU. At the second consecutive summit at the highest level, which took place earlier this month in Brussels, European leaders were forced to move forward without Budapest, when attempts to persuade Orbán to sign an agreement with all 27 countries failed.
After the meeting on March 17 in Brussels, Szijjártó accused his European colleagues of "ganging up" against him for criticizing Ukraine's treatment of the ethnic Hungarian minority. The issue of the Hungarian minority in Ukraine is, according to some critics, used by Budapest in the context of rapprochement with Russia.
Hungary uses its ties with Moscow for economic gain. It should be noted that the country received exemptions from EU sanctions on Russian oil. And so far, it has doubled its purchases of natural gas from Russia.
The next visit of the head of the Hungarian Ministry of Foreign Affairs to Russia took place against the background of the US statement that Russia and Ukraine "agreed to a ceasefire" in the Black Sea. Although Moscow stated that the agreement would depend on a number of preconditions, including the easing of sanctions.
Let us remind you
The Prime Minister of Slovakia and the head of the Ministry of Foreign Affairs of Hungary criticized the Paris meeting on the deployment of troops in Ukraine. Both politicians support the position against military aid to Kyiv and Ukraine's accession to NATO.
Orbán's political director stated that rearming Europe is a more important task and challenge than helping Ukraine.