Ukraine slams Viktor Orbán over nationalist scarf
The map of ‘Greater Hungary’ upset Kyiv and Bucharest.
Ukraine said Tuesday it would summon Hungary’s ambassador to Kyiv over a football scarf worn by Hungarian Prime Minister Viktor Orbán that displayed a map of “Greater Hungary,” which includes parts of present-day Ukraine.
Ukraine’s Foreign Minister Dmytro Kuleba said that Orbán’s neckwear was a “promotion of revisionism ideas, that does not contribute to the development of Ukrainian-Hungarian relations and does not comply with the principles of European policy.”
Ukraine is waiting for an official apology from the Hungarian side, Kuleba added. Ukrainian-Hungarian relations have already been strained this year, with Orbán maintaining some ties to Russia amid its brutal war on Ukraine. Greater Hungary collapsed in the aftermath of defeat in World War I.
Orbán posted a video of him meeting the Hungarian football player Balázs Dzudzsák on Instagram where the scarf with the map — that also includes parts of modern Romania, Croatia, Slovakia, Serbia and Austria — is clearly visible.
The Romanian foreign ministry also sent its “firm disapproval” of Orbán’s gesture to the Hungarian ambassador in Bucharest on Monday.
The Romanian ministry stated that “any revisionist manifestation, regardless of the form it takes, is unacceptable, contrary to the current realities and the commitments undertaken jointly by Romania and Hungary to build a bilateral relationship.”
A spokesperson from the Austrian Ministry of International Affairs told POLITICO: “A quick glance at historical maps in the Viennese Ministry of Foreign Affairs has confirmed initial suspicions, according to which Translithania (the Kingdom of Hungary) ceased to exist around 100 years ago.”
“We will inform our Hungarian neighbours of this development at the earliest opportunity,” the ministry added.
Ukraine’s Foreign Minister Dmytro Kuleba said that Orbán’s neckwear was a “promotion of revisionism ideas, that does not contribute to the development of Ukrainian-Hungarian relations and does not comply with the principles of European policy.”
Ukraine is waiting for an official apology from the Hungarian side, Kuleba added. Ukrainian-Hungarian relations have already been strained this year, with Orbán maintaining some ties to Russia amid its brutal war on Ukraine. Greater Hungary collapsed in the aftermath of defeat in World War I.
Orbán posted a video of him meeting the Hungarian football player Balázs Dzudzsák on Instagram where the scarf with the map — that also includes parts of modern Romania, Croatia, Slovakia, Serbia and Austria — is clearly visible.
The Romanian foreign ministry also sent its “firm disapproval” of Orbán’s gesture to the Hungarian ambassador in Bucharest on Monday.
The Romanian ministry stated that “any revisionist manifestation, regardless of the form it takes, is unacceptable, contrary to the current realities and the commitments undertaken jointly by Romania and Hungary to build a bilateral relationship.”
A spokesperson from the Austrian Ministry of International Affairs told POLITICO: “A quick glance at historical maps in the Viennese Ministry of Foreign Affairs has confirmed initial suspicions, according to which Translithania (the Kingdom of Hungary) ceased to exist around 100 years ago.”
“We will inform our Hungarian neighbours of this development at the earliest opportunity,” the ministry added.
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