Hungarian PM worries Belarus’ transition to democracy to increase US domination in Europe
February 1, Pozirk. A possible victory of the Belarusian pro-democracy forces would enhance the United States’ domination in Europe, Hungary’s Prime Minister Viktor Orban reportedly told a closed meeting of Hungarian MPs in spring 2023.
“We will see about Belarus, one or two color revolutions could still happen there,” Hungarian investigative journalists from Direkt36 reported, quoting him as saying.
Orban commented on Belarus during a discussion of geopolitical risks arising from Ukraine’s possible accession to the European Union.
Should Ukraine become an EU member, the United States will have a military, political and economic center of power within the EU, the Hungarian ruler claimed. This center would form around Ukraine, the Baltic States, Poland and possibly Romania, he added.
On January 17, Belarusian opposition leader Śviatłana Cichanoŭskaja asked Hungarian President Katalin Novák to stick to the EU’s common policy on Belarus as they met at the World Economic Forum in Davos, Switzerland.
Hungary is the only EU member that maintains official contacts with the Belarusian government, accused of human rights abuse.
Budapest joined the EU sanctions against Minsk, but Hungarian officials have repeatedly stated that they opposed that policy.
Following Hungarian Foreign Minister Peter Szijjártó’s visit to Minsk in February, the foreign ministries signed a 2023 cooperation program focusing on dialogue, economic cooperation and educational and cultural exchanges.
Szijjártó also visited Minsk in October to participate in a conference on Eurasian security.
In late September, Lukašenka accepted credentials from Hungary’s Zita Bencsik, the only EU ambassador to present credentials to the Belarusian ruler after 2020.
