Ukraine's foreign minister likens Orbán to Hitler henchman
The dispute is triggered by Orbán's statement that for the next 100 years Hungary "will not have a parliament that would vote for Ukraine's accession to the EU".
Source: European Pravda
Details: In response to Orbán's remarks, Ukraine's Foreign Minister Andrii Sybiha said Orban's plans are doomed to fail because Orban's "master in Moscow" will not last another 100 years.
Hungary's Foreign Minister Péter Szijjártó replied on X (Twitter), accusing the Ukrainian minister of interfering in 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 published 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 do not care about the welfare and safety of Hungarians living in Ukraine. Instead, he alleges Orbán 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".
More details: The remark references a corruption scandal in Hungary linked to Orbán's country house, where journalists report a private zoo with exotic animals, including zebras.
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 all 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, Orban 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 that "Hungary and the Hungarian people do not deserve this" as 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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