Polish PM finds Szijjártó-Lavrov feast hard to digest

Polish Prime Minister Donald Tusk expressed harsh criticism of the Hungarian and Slovak foreign ministers’ meeting their Russian counterpart, Sergey Lavrov at a conference in Turkey last Friday.

Tusk said that meeting with Russian Foreign Minister Sergey Lavrov on the very day Russian opposition leader Alexei Navalny was buried in Moscow was "not just a matter of good or bad taste".

"Holding a celebratory feast on the day of Alexei Navalny's funeral ... is just another signal from the Hungarian government that we find difficult to accept for moral and political reasons."

– Tusk said at a press conference.

Hungarian Foreign Minister Péter Szijjártó and Slovak Foreign Minister Juraj Blanár met with Lavrov on Friday at the Antalya Diplomacy Forum. Szijjártó posted about their dinner on his social media profile as part of his usual checking in. In the video, the Hungarian Foreign Minister is cordially chatting with his Russian counterpart Sergey Lavrov.

“Our colleagues in Bratislava and Budapest have once again demonstrated that we have very different views on certain issues.”

– AP quotes Tusk as saying. "Naturally, I'm talking about the attitude towards Russia and its attack on Ukraine," he said, making clear what he was referring to.

Lithuanian Prime Minister Ingrida Simonyte who held talks with Tusk described the two prime ministers' meeting with Lavrov as a "regrettable decision".

Eastern European countries are deeply divided over Russia's war against Ukraine and on how the conflict should be resolved, the paper further writes. While Poland and the Czech Republic are united in their staunch support for Ukraine, including on arms supplies, Hungary and Slovakia have very different views, AP points out.

Hungarian Foreign Minister Péter Szijjártó has been a frequent visitor to Russia in the past two years as well, despite the country's ongoing aggression against Ukraine. Citing Russian press reports, Hvg reported over the weekend that the Foreign Minister will be traveling to Russia again soon, although this time to Sochi instead of Moscow.

"Indeed, I have been invited to Atomexpo, which I will of course be happy to attend, given the successful cooperation between Russia and Hungary in the field of nuclear energy".

Szijjártó told the Russian state news agency Ria Novosti in Turkey. The Atomexpo will be held in Sochi on 25-26 March with the participation of the world's leading nuclear energy companies.