Zsuzsanna Szelényi: Despite all troubles, relations between Ukraine and Hungary can thrive.
09.12.2022
Zsuzsanna Szelényi
What are the relations between Ukraine and Hungary, are they at a sufficient level, what are the difficulties, and what do to do about them? We asked Zsuzsanna Szelényi, a Hungarian politician and foreign policy specialist, Director of Democracy Institute Leadership Academy, & Author of Tainted Democracy, to comment.
Hungary’s relationship with Ukraine has been troubled for several years.
Conflicts emerged when Ukraine made its law on national minorities which had a negative influence (among others) on Hungarian minorities living in Transcarpathia, in Ukraine.
Viktor Orbán’s government reacted to this problem at a disproportionate level, namely by opposing the establishment of the NATO-Ukraine special committee. This kind of step is typical for Orbán’s government, which is not shying away to use tough, assertive negotiation techniques at the international level. Ever since, relationships were tense and expanded to other fields, such as gas pipelines bypassing Ukraine.
With Russia’s war against Ukraine, the Hungarian government runs a contradictory policy toward Ukraine. First, it approved European and NATO policies that support Ukraine and voted for sanctions against Russia. True, Hungary did not offer arms but humanitarian aid. Hungary also hosts tens of thousands of Ukrainian refugees. On the other hand, Viktor Orbán is controversial about who is responsible for the war and represents a so-called ‘pro-peace’ politics, which in the context of the war, can be understood as a pro-Russia position. Orbán is clearly manoeuvring between the stand of the European Union and making efforts to maintain relations with Russia. He believes that the complete isolation of Russia is harmful to Europe. This politics is motivated by his strong commitment to energy sources, which are overwhelmingly Russia-based.
The controversial approach is also visible by on one hand an often-pro-Russia narrative in the Hungarian public media, which is controlled by the government, on the other hand, friendly visits of President of the Republic Katalin Novák to Kyiv offering aid to war-torn Ukraine and stating clearly that in this war Russia is the aggressor.
Orbán’s typical double-sided foreign policy is heavily tested by the war, and so far, lead to serious distrust from critical partners in the Visegrád cooperation, (Poland, Czechia, and Slovakia) what left Hungary rather isolated within the EU. This is a high risk for Hungary in the future and is simply not sustainable.
Trust-building with Ukraine will not be easy in the future, but possible. Relations, both diplomatic and economic, are active and partnership with neighbouring countries has strategic importance for Hungary. The prerequisite for rebuilding trust, however, is that the Hungarian government joins the common European positions and shows constructive politics with Ukraine.
Zsuzsanna Szelényi is a Hungarian politician and foreign policy specialist. In the 1990s, she was an activist and MP for Fidesz, then a liberal anti-Communist party. After working at the Council of Europe for fifteen years, she returned to politics in 2012, representing the liberal opposition in Parliament.
Maryna Kovalchuk, the Newssky’s own correspondent (Slovakia, Czech Republic, Hungary, Poland), V5 Media project leader, contributed.
