Section: The Budapest Times (Hungary)
European solution please!
Should, thanks to the friendly neighborhood United States, the situation in Ukraine escalate again, Hungary can of course be fully confident that the Americans will unwaveringly offer their financial assistance to solve the expected refugee problem, to compensate Hungary for the unavoidable trading losses and, if it comes to energy supply issues,...
Merkel visit a political failure
From a diplomatic aspect, the joint press conference by the German chancellor and the Hungarian prime minister revealed some disagreements over the concept of illiberal democracy, the treatment of NGOs and the media. Left-leaning think-tank Political Capital provides a flash analysis. Chancellor Merkel’s visit was a highly anticipated event...
Note on a visit
On February 17, Vladimir Putin is going to visit Hungary. This visit reflects the hectic state of foreign policy of the current government. As it is, owing to the visit’s narrow latitude, it has to legitimise the situation of Russia after the Ukrainian crisis. In addition, the visit outlines the foreign course that Hungary got onto, owing...
Putin visit date set
Russian President Vladimir Putin will visit Hungary on February 17, Minister of Foreign Affairs and Trade Péter Szijjártó has announced. Szijjártó said Hungary urges the mediated end of the fighting in Ukraine without delay, based on the Minsk agreement on resolving the crisis, adding that Hungary’s interest is to have a strong and stable...
PM, opposition jostle ahead of Merkel, Putin visits
Pending visits by German Chancellor Angela Merkel and Russian President Vladimir Putin are in “different phases”, Prime Minister Viktor Orbán has told public radio. Merkel’s visit has a date and agenda set but Putin’s is only planned, with no decisions yet on the time or topics to be discussed. Political and economic cooperation with...
Their guess is as good as anybody’s
Pokorni could have a bad year The opinion blog of news portal 444.hu, Véleményvezér (opinion leader), predicted in early 2014 the year’s important issues. As their predictions were correct in many cases, here are their thoughts for 2015. Will Viktor Orbán be overthrown? No. Even the prime minister has admitted that his position seems...
PM warns Ukraine: our energy security comes first
Hungary is ready to help out Ukraine but it cannot compromise its own energy security, Prime Minister Viktor Orbán said in Dunaújváros on Monday. “Ukrainians can rely on us,” Orbán said but added that “we cannot help others if doing so would mean giving up our own energy security”. He argued that in summer Hungary was in a position to supply...
The first servant
Viktor Orbán thought that he would jostle the mood a little in Ukraine. Just to make sure nothing remains so peaceful there. If the Russians are demanding autonomy on the eastern side of the country, why wouldn’t the general of Felcsút demand the same autonomy for the western side of the country? Right place in the right time. The...
Operation to find Hungarian man captured in Ukraine
An unidentified armed group has taken a Hungarian man captive in Ukraine, Hungary’s counter-terrorism force TEK told MTI on Monday. The man, a Hungarian citizen, was taken captive under unclear circumstances in eastern Ukraine, TEK said. The man had been travelling in a car with Hungarian licence plates in a conflict zone in eastern Ukraine...
Hungarian ambassador summoned in Kyiv
Ukraine’s foreign ministry on Tuesday summoned Hungary’s ambassador and voiced concern over recent remarks by Hungarian Prime Minister Viktor Orbán about the necessity of autonomy and dual citizenship for ethnic Hungarians in that country, news agency Interfax-Ukraina reported. According to the report, ministry spokesman Yevhen...
