Hungarian Prime Minister Viktor Orban and Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy. Photo: Olivier Hoslet / AFP
Hungary has officially cancelled a bilateral meeting with Ukraine that was due to take place on Monday and was to focus on the rights of national minorities. The reason was the escalation of the diplomatic conflict that erupted after the detention in Ukraine of two suspects of spying for the Hungarian special services. This was reported by Reuters.
In a statement on Sunday evening, Hungarian Foreign Minister Levente Modjor said that the current state of Ukrainian-Hungarian relations is not conducive to a “constructive dialogue” on such a sensitive issue as minority rights, referring to the Hungarian community in Transcarpathia. He added that Budapest remains open to dialogue if conditions for cooperation with Hungary are created.
Background: the spy scandal between Kyiv and Budapest
On Friday, the Security Service of Ukraine (SBU) announced the exposure of Hungary’s first-ever spy network, which it said was acting against the state’s interests in Zakarpattia, straining relations with Hungary.
According to the SBU, two former members of the Ukrainian Armed Forces were recruited by a representative of Hungarian military intelligence. Their tasks included:
- collecting information on the military security of the region,
- studying the state of air defence,
- monitoring socio-political sentiment in the event of a possible presence of Hungarian troops in the region.
Both suspects were arrested on charges of treason. This has had a significant impact on relations with Hungary.
Hungary’s reaction: mirror response and accusations of propaganda
In response, Hungarian Foreign Minister Peter Szijjarto said that two Ukrainian diplomats had been expelled from Budapest for espionage. According to him, Kyiv’s actions are an attempt to discredit it because of Budapest’s disagreement with providing military assistance to Ukraine.
“This is part of Kyiv’s anti-Magyar propaganda. For the last three years, the war has also been a war of narratives,” Szijjártó said.
Hungary has systematically accused Ukraine of violating the language rights of the Hungarian minority, which numbers around 150,000 people in the Zakarpattia region. The Law on Education and the new language law have been a source of ongoing diplomatic tension.
Now, amid the spy scandal, relations between the two countries have reached a new low, casting doubt on the prospect of resuming dialogue in the near future, especially with Hungary.
