Hungary expels Russian diplomats
Hungary's Foreign Minister Anita Orbán announced on Tuesday that ten Russian diplomats had been ordered to leave the country for engaging in activities that were "unacceptable for diplomats under the Vienna Convention". This apparently refers to espionage. Moscow has threatened "harsh and painful" retaliatory measures in response to the expulsions. Reactions in the national press are mixed.
Alienating a reliable partner
For the Fidesz-aligned newspaper Magyar Nemzet the move was ill-advised:
“We are alienating Moscow at breakneck speed just as winter is approaching and we still need to fill up our gas storage facilities. ... It is not clear whether we have chosen the appropriate negotiating strategy for the situation at hand. Moreover, Russia – which has been declared a threat to Europe and Hungary – has, interestingly enough, always supplied our country with oil and natural gas in accordance with the contracts. We were even able to negotiate the financing arrangements. Meanwhile, the countries with which we are now aligning ourselves, at the expense of our own interests, have unlawfully withheld money [EU funding] to which we are entitled under existing treaties as a disciplinary measure against the Hungarian people.”
A clear message to East and West
Telex sees the move as a bid by Hungary to regain its allies' trust:
“One of the political messages behind this announcement could be to make it clear to Russia that a new era has dawned and that Hungary will no longer treat Russian intelligence officers with kid gloves. The other message is the same, however it is directed not at Moscow but at those Western allies and partners who have long since ceased to trust Hungary. The term 'partners' here refers not only to individual Western countries, but also, for example, to those intelligence services that have become suspicious of the Hungarian services precisely because of the Orbán government’s pro-Russian policy.”