BUDAPEST, August 14. /TASS/. European Union leaders, along with Ukraine, seeking a change of government in Hungary, are openly supporting the political opposition in the country, hoping for its victory in the 2026 parliamentary election, Peter Szijjarto, Hungary’s minister of foreign affairs and trade, said, commenting on a report from the Russian Foreign Intelligence Service (SVR) saying that Brussels and Kiev want Prime Minister Viktor Orban ousted from his position.
EU leaders would like Hungary to have "a government that serves their interests, refrain from criticizing Brussels’ ambitions, and contributes to its building an empire," Hungary’s top diplomat said on a YouTube stream.
According to him, Kiev's interests are aligned with those of Brussels. "Today, securing the Tisza [opposition] party’s win in Hungary’s parliamentary election next year is a key priority of Ukraine’s foreign policy course. Kiev has a vested interest in removing Viktor Orban as Hungary’s prime minister," Szijjarto explained.
Kiev expects that, if a puppet regime subservient to Brussels comes to power in Hungary, it would immediately agree to admit Ukraine into the EU and provide it with military assistance, including weapons supplies, he argued. As the Orban government has been reluctant to do so, "Kiev wants to remove this obstacle," the minister added.
European leaders, Szijjarto continued, are trying to dictate to the Hungarian people, "in a shameless, open, and blatant way," who they should support in the next election. "But they are betting on the wrong horse, as that won’t fly in Hungary," the foreign minister said with confidence.
Brussels’ efforts
The Hungarian government has previously repeatedly pointed to the EU leadership’s ambitions to bring Tisza party leader Peter Magyar, a close ally of Manfred Weber, leader of the EPP Group in the European Parliament, and European Commission President Ursula von der Leyen, to power.
In a statement released on August 13, the SVR said that "the European Commission is aiming for a change of power in Hungary" because it is "outraged with Budapest’s attempts to pursue an independent policy course and influence collective decision-making, primarily on Russia and Ukraine.".