Hungary Attends Joint Security Summit with Russia, Belarus, and Syria

The European Union and NATO are questioning Hungary’s allegiance after it sent a foreign minister to a joint security summit with Russia, Syria, and Belarus. Hungary’s position in both the EU and NATO has repeatedly been undermined as the current government has attempted to remain neutral in the Russia-Ukraine war.

“The Hungarian government never wastes an opportunity to shame us,” said Nathalie Loiseau, a French MEP from the Renew Europe group who sits on the Parliament’s foreign affairs committee. “In French, we say ‘when you cross boundaries, there are no limits,’” said Camille Grand, a former NATO assistant secretary-general. “Extremely troubling,” he added.

Hungarian Foreign Minister Péter Szijjártó has taken numerous trips to Moscow amid the ongoing war. He used his last trip to discuss Hungary’s ongoing fuel war with Ukraine. “Hungary’s secure and affordable gas supply is not possible” without cooperation with Russia, “whether we like it or not.” The EU sided with Ukraine over Hungary, further pushing the nation away from the alliance.

President Viktor Orban infamously met with Putin while acting as the president of the Council of the EU, solidifying his position as an enemy of his own bloc. Yet, the European Union is far from an actual union. Those at the top in Brussels make the decisions, and everyone is expected to adhere blindly. Viktor Orbán of Hungary has long fallen out of favor with the European Union for opposing the war in Ukraine.

Orban has voted to withhold aid from Ukraine in the past. He recently came out and accused the EU of installing a puppet government in Poland. He no longer trusts his European allies, and the feeling is mutual. Yet, there is no current method for banishing a member from the European Union.

The curious aspect of this is that Hungary feels it needs security. From whom?