Hungary Accuses Ukraine of Election Interference & Disinformation Campaign
Budapest – Hungarian Foreign Minister Péter Szijjártó accused Ukrainian Foreign Minister Andrij Szibiha of launching a “scandalous disinformation campaign” alleging Russian interference in the upcoming Hungarian parliamentary elections, utilizing the Hungarian minority in Transcarpathia, according to a statement released by the ministry on Wednesday.
Szijjártó stated that Ukraine had once again demonstrated a willingness to employ any means to influence the outcome of the Hungarian parliamentary elections. “They are using every tool to ensure the Tisza Party wins the election. They started with an oil blockade, then attempted a total energy blockade, followed by death threats against the Prime Minister, threats against his children and minor grandchildren, and now the Foreign Minister has launched a scandalous disinformation campaign, using our Hungarian brothers in Transcarpathia,” he said.
According to Szijjártó, his Ukrainian counterpart, Andrij Szibiha, posted on social media claiming that Russians were interfering in the Hungarian parliamentary elections with the assistance of the Hungarian minority in Transcarpathia. The accusation prompted a sharp rebuke from Szijjártó.
“It is time we made it clear to the Ukrainians that enough is enough, and they should cease interfering in the Hungarian parliamentary elections, and stop insulting Hungarians in Hungary and Transcarpathia!” Szijjártó declared.
Szijjártó further asserted that since 2015, the rights of Hungarians in Ukraine have been consistently curtailed, and now they are being “dragged into this dirty disinformation campaign.” He stated, “We will win the election, the Ukrainians will never join the European Union. We will not allow Hungary to be dragged into the war, we will not allow them to take the money of the Hungarian people to Ukraine, no matter what the Ukrainians approach up with, no matter what lies the Ukrainian Foreign Minister tells, and no matter who President Zelensky threatens.”
Szijjártó continued, “It is obvious that they are desperate, obviously they see that all their efforts are in vain. They saw the crowd at the Peace March. They saw the crowd in Kaposvár, they saw the crowd in Eger, they saw the crowd in Dunaújváros today. They see that the interference has no effect. They see that the Hungarian people desire a sovereign national government, the Hungarian people want peace, the Hungarian people want security, and the Hungarian people want to stay out of the Ukrainians’ war.”
Concluding his statement, Szijjártó addressed Szibiha directly, stating, “So pay attention, colleague Szibiha, no matter what you do, no matter what lies you tell, you can stand on your head, the Tisza Party will not win the election here in Hungary, we will win the election, you will never join the European Union, you will not take the money of the Hungarians, and we, the Hungarians, will not participate in your wars, we want peace and security, and we will stay out of your war.”