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German Foreign calls on Hungary and Turkey to ratify Sweden and Finland's NATO accession
Germain Foreign Minister Annalena Baerbock called on Hungary and Turkey on Thursday to ratify the NATO accession of Sweden and Finland, saying there is 'no grey area'.
"With regard to the question about Hungary: I would like to underline this clearly, there is no grey area," Baerbock told a joint news conference in Berlin.
Ankara and Budapest pledged to support the two nordic countries' accession during a NATO summit in Madrid earlier this year. The Hungarian parliament will discuss the ratification during the fall session.
Russian spy chief’s son has a Budapest address
Andrey Naryshkin, son of Sergey Naryshkin, head of Russia’s Foreign Intelligence Service (SVR) has a registered home address in the heart of Budapest, Hungarian investigative outlet Direkt 36 reports.
This is revealed by a document issued by the Pest County Government Office on June 15, 2022, obtained by Molfar, a Ukrainian open-source intelligence (OSINT) group. Molfar has commissioned a Greek private investigations agency, Marathon Investigations, which, in the course of its investigations covering several EU countries, found reports that members of the Naryshkin family had obtained residency permits in Hungary under a golden visa scheme.
The Budapest property, where Naryshkin’s home address was registered, was bought in 2008 by Georgian-Israeli businessman Shabtai Michaeli who is linked to PM Viktor Orbán’s spin doctor, Árpád Habony and current head of the Cabinet Office of the Prime Minister, Antal Rogán.
Hungary stands firmly by Poland after missile strike, Orban says
Hungary stands firmly by Poland, Prime Minister Viktor Orban said on his official Twitter account on Wednesday. The Hungarian Prime Minister stressed that a calm and thorough investigation is needed into the causes of the explosions in the Polish village of Przewodow near the Ukraine border.
We need a calm and thorough investigation regarding the explosions in #Przewodow. One thing is for sure: Hungary stands firmly by Poland. I expressed my full support to Prime Minister @MorawieckiM yesterday evening.
— Orbán Viktor (@PM_ViktorOrban) November 16, 2022
Slovak foreign minister accuses Hungarian government of echoing Kremlin propaganda
Slovakia’s new foreign minister, Rastislav Káčer said the Orban government's arguments regarding the war in Ukraine sound similar to the ones from " the Kremlin's playbook”, during an interview with Napunk. Káčer made the remarks in response to a question about Budapest’s claim that the sanctions against Russia hurt the European Union more than Moscow.
"The arguments we hear from the Hungarian government are often the same as those used by Kremlin propaganda in its information war. I do not understand this. These sanctions are in no way more damaging for Europe," he said.
The foreign minister also said that Hungary’s relationship with Russia was not the only problem within the Visegrad Four group. “Hungary is alone in the European Union with this view and is completely isolated from its other Western allies,” Káčer added.