Kremlin open to developing ties with Hungary despite expulsion of Russian diplomats

Russia will provide an appropriate response to Hungary’s expulsion of ten Russian diplomats, Dmitry Peskov, the Russian President’s Spokesman said on Wednesday in Moscow. Speaking in front of journalists, Peskov stated: “As far as this specific decision is concerned, there will, of course, be an appropriate response; these steps will not go unanswered.”

Hungary’s unfriendly actions will undoubtedly have a negative impact and are bound to have negative consequences in terms of Russian-Hungarian bilateral relations overall, the Russian state news agency TASS quotes him as saying. “We remain open to further developing our ties. ​We are interested in doing ​so, ⁠and we do not favour causing any harm to what one might ⁠call ​the valuable legacy and ​experience of Russian-Hungarian bilateral relations."

It was announced on Tuesday that the Hungarian Ministry of Foreign Affairs had expelled 10 members of the Russian Embassy staff from the country. Foreign Minister Anita Orbán added, however, that this does not mean a severing of diplomatic ties with Russia and said that Hungary intends to continue the necessary dialogue based on mutual respect and in compliance with the rules. András Rácz, Deputy Director General of the Hungarian Institute of International Affairs, told Telex that based on the rules of diplomatic language, one can infer from the Foreign Minister's statement that the ten Russian diplomats expelled from Hungary were in fact working under diplomatic cover and engaging in intelligence activities.

The announcement could be a message to Russia that a new era is coming and that Hungary will no longer go easy on Russian intelligence agents. However, it is also possible that this message is not intended for Moscow, but rather for Hungary’s Western allies and partners who have not been able to trust the Hungarians for quite some time due to the previous administration's close relationship with Russia.

The spokesperson for the Russian Foreign Ministry initially reacted to the news by promising a “harsh and painful” response. “First of all, we will do the same. But Hungary’s decision could also lead to a decrease in the number of joint economic projects with Russia,” Alexey Chepa, vice chairman of the State Duma’s Committee on International Affairs told the Russian news agency TASS.