'Ukraine is Currently Hungary's Enemy', Says Foreign Minister

  • 11 Feb 2026 8:43 AM
'Ukraine is Currently Hungary's Enemy', Says Foreign Minister
Ukraine is currently Hungary's enemy as it is trying to undermine the country's secure operations, energy security and sovereignty, Péter Szijjártó, the minister of foreign affairs and trade, said on Tuesday, adding that the government would not allow the country's secure operations to be put at risk.

Szijjarto told the Truth Hour podcast that the "Brussels-Kyiv coalition" was working to bring about a change of government in Hungary "and their candidate is the Tisza Party" because if Tisza came to power they would fulfil their expectations, in contrast to the current sovereign, patriotic leadership.

According to a ministry statement, Szijjarto said Ukraine was constantly pushing through Brussels decisions that were harmful to Hungary, citing the ban on Russian oil and natural gas imports and sanctions against the Russian nuclear industry as examples.

Such steps, he said, were "hostile actions" against Hungary.

Meanwhile, Szijjarto said Europe was suffering from war fanaticism, with Brussels currently in the process of preparing its twentieth package of sanctions "and making increasingly wild proposals."

"Now they want Rosatom, Gazprom, and Lukoil to be added to the sanctions list, Russian energy companies with which cooperation is critical for Hungary in terms of both our energy security and maintaining low utility costs," he warned.

Since 2015, Ukraine had been pursuing a "policy motivated by the hatred of Hungarians," severely restricting the rights of minorities, Szijjarto said. "Unfortunately, it is no exaggeration to say that during the Soviet era, Hungarians in Transcarpathia had more rights in terms of using their mother tongue."

"And this is the country Brussels wants into the European Union. This is the country the Tisza Party wants to support ... they had a survey where the majority of their supporters [...] were on Ukraine's side," he noted.

Regarding the government's utility price cut scheme, Szijjarto said: "Because we buy cheap Russian crude oil and natural gas, utility costs for families in Hungary are lower than in countries where energy sources are more expensive than in Russia."

He said the Tisza Party wanted to put an end to that state of affairs.
 

"The Tisza Party has now recruited celebrities who have been lobbying for years for us to give up cheap Russian energy sources and buy more expensive ones from Western companies, thereby obviously increasing the revenues of those Western companies and their shareholders, while the Hungarian people pay three times as much for their utility bills," he said.

Orban: If next govt not formed by patriotic side, Ukraine will join EU

If the next government is not formed by patriotic forces, Ukraine will be allowed to join the European Union, Prime Minister Viktor Orban said.

In a video posted on Facebook, Orban was asked about Politico's claim that in case opposition Tisza leader Peter Magyar becomes prime minister, Ukraine's accession to the EU would be accelerated.

"That's what would happen," Orban responded. He warned that Ukraine's EU membership would destroy Hungarian agriculture and "the pillars of the Hungarian economy today."

"As for the destruction of Europe, that's not my problem, but the Europeans', because if they set fire to the roof over their own heads, that's their business; we have to deal with Hungary," he added.

He said that Ukraine cannot be allowed to join the EU because it is sharply opposed to Hungary's interests.

"In short, they call from Brussels, and then the puppet government in Brussels says: jawohl. When they call me, I usually say: nein, danke. That's the difference," Orban said.

Gal: EU plans of Ukraine 2027 accession 'crazy, unfounded idea'

The European Union's plan to have Ukraine join the bloc by 2027 "is a completely crazy idea with no basis in reality," ruling Fidesz MEP Kinga Gal said on Tuesday.

Gal, who is also a vice-president of the Patriots for Europe EP group, said in a statement that the EU was ratcheting up pressure for Ukraine's accelerated accession. Also, they were openly saying that since Hungary caused a problem, the party "submissive" to the EU should win the elections in Hungary.

She added that a five-point plan had been leaked on talks of the EU providing 800 billion euros for reconstruction and 700 billion euros for armament, beyond the 90 billion euros promised to Ukraine. She said there was now open talk that Ukraine could possibly join the European Union as early as next year.

Gal said this would amount to "accession turned upside down" in which the conditions for membership would not be examined before admission, but rather the candidate country would be required to meet EU expectations after the fact.

This would ruin the EU, especially the agriculture of neighboring countries, and harm farmers, businesses, the labor market and security, she added.

She said it was unacceptable that there is talk of removing the right of veto and extending majority voting on such issues. "They are thinking in a completely upside-down EU," she said, adding that it should not be allowed.

She added that the Hungarian government and Fidesz were a guarantee that Hungary's money and interests would not be exported to Ukraine.

"They were openly stating that they want a change of government in Hungary," Gal said. It has also been stated at the plenary session that the leader of the Tisza Party is considered a partner in the implementation of Brussels' ideas. "It really matters who wins the April elections, because currently only Fidesz can guarantee that accelerated accession will not be accepted," she added.

She also said that the EP was discussing the 90 billion euro loan, which she called a "war loan", in an accelerated procedure. She said the money would be used to support Ukraine, arm it, and maintain it, as proposed by the European Commission. She added that this amount would indebt future generations, while the sources of repayment are unclear.

Gal said Hungary, together with Slovakia and the Czech Republic, was able to stay out of the loan, and the Hungarian government does not intend to participate in such loans for Ukraine in the future. She added that they would vote against it in the EP.

Meanwhile, Gal said the Spanish government was planning to introduce a package of measures that would legalise 500,000 illegal immigrants. The Schengen area would enable these individuals to travel anywhere in the EU, including Hungary, she said, adding that while Hungary was protecting its external borders and had to pay a daily fine of one million euros, the EC was silent on Spain's move.

She said the measure could invite more migrants and jeopardise one of the most important achievements of the Schengen area, namely the free movement across borders.

Another key issue at the EP plenary will be competitiveness, Gal said, adding that one of the main reasons for the decline in European competitiveness were high energy prices, which she said were the result of the EC's misguided policy.

She cited the RePowerEU programme, which aims to phase out Russian energy sources from the European market, as an example, saying that it particularly affects central and eastern Europe.

She said the Hungarian government had referred the matter to the Court of Justice of the European Union and they will emphasise it in the debate that energy prices need to be reduced in order to improve competitiveness.
 

Source: MTI – Hungary’s national news agency since 1881. While MTI articles are usually factual, some may contain political bias, and readers should be aware that such content does not reflect the position of XpatLoop, which is neutral and independent.

Since the goal of XpatLoop is to keep readers well briefed, right across the spectrum of opinions, MTI items are shared to ensure readers are aware of all narratives within the local media.

XpatLoop believes in empowering readers to form their own views through complete and comprehensive coverage. To facilitate this XpatLoop has a balanced range of news partners, as you can see when you surf around XpatLoop.com

 

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