Ukraine's foreign minister likens Orbán to head of Hitler's puppet government in Hungary
A diplomatic spat is ongoing between Budapest and Ukraine's Foreign Minister Andrii Sybiha, triggered by Hungarian Prime Minister Viktor Orbán's claim that Hungary "will not have a parliament that would vote for Ukraine's accession to the EU" for the next 100 years.
Source: European Pravda
Details: Sybiha told Orbán in response that his plans are doomed to fail because his "master in Moscow" is not going to last another 100 years.
Hungarian Foreign Minister Péter Szijjártó replied on X (Twitter), accusing the Ukrainian minister of interfering in the Hungarian elections.
Quote from Szijjártó: "Well, I see you started to interfere into our elections. We know you want a government which would say yes to Brussels and would be ready to drag Hungary into your war. But we will not let it happen! The sovereign Hungarian government will continue to protect the country and its people from your war! Hungary first!"
More details: Sybiha posted a lengthy rebuttal on Saturday 24 January, sharply criticising Orbán and urging Szijjártó to "call a spade a spade".
Quote from Sybiha: "When Viktor Orbán says that he will not allow Ukraine to join the EU for the next 100 years, he is not really talking to the Ukrainian state. First and foremost, he is telling this to ethnic Hungarians in Transcarpathia. This sounds like a Freudian slip, with a reference to the peace treaty signed more than 100 years ago that was tragic for Hungarians. This is the height of your cynicism."
More details: Sybiha said that Orbán and his team don't care about the welfare and safety of Hungarians living in Ukraine – Orbán just wants to keep them as "hostages to his geopolitical adventures and to continue laundering money through various foreign schemes and foundations – to build yet another football stadium or a new private zoo with zebras".
This is a reference to a corruption scandal in Hungary that erupted when journalists discovered a private zoo stocked with exotic animals, including zebras, at Orbán's country house.
Sybiha added that the European Union is a zone of peace, and that Ukraine's accession would bring peace closer and guarantee security and prosperity for the whole of Europe and for the Hungarian people.
Quote: "But this is not what Putin wants. He wants the war to continue. By blocking Ukraine's EU membership, Orbán is fulfilling Putin's wishes. At the same time, Orbán is blocking the restoration of peace in Europe and turning Hungary into an accomplice of the Kremlin regime. Today, Orbán is acting not even like Miklós Horthy, but like Hitler's henchman Ferenc Szálasi. This is a lesson from World War II."
More details: Sybiha added: "Hungary and the Hungarian people do not deserve this. [...] The Hungarian people are a people of dignity and freedom – the people of Ferenc Rákóczi II, Sándor Petőfi, and Imre Nagy, not of Orbán."
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