HUNGARY DENIES CLAIM, ESCALATING TENSIONS
Hungarian Foreign Minister Peter Szijjarto hit back, saying Zelenskyy was “losing his mind to his anti-Hungarian obsession”.
“He’s now starting to see things that aren’t there,” Szijjarto wrote on social media.
Hours earlier, Ukraine had barred three Hungarian military officials from entering its territory after Budapest banned three Ukrainian officials. The two countries also expelled two diplomats each in May over spying accusations.
“And these are the people who expect us to support their accession to the European Union… They can’t be serious,” Szijjarto said before Zelenskyy’s remarks.
STRAINED RELATIONS OVER EU BID AND RUSSIA
Ukraine applied to join the EU days after Russia’s invasion, but membership talks have stalled due to vetoes from Hungarian Prime Minister Viktor Orban.
Hungary has also blocked EU aid tranches for Ukraine, while continuing to buy Russian oil and gas that Kyiv says finance Moscow’s war.
Budapest argues that admitting Ukraine into the EU while at war risks dragging it into direct conflict with Russia, a claim Kyiv rejects.
