BRUSSELS — Russia cannot be counted on as a reliable partner, the European Commission said Wednesday in response to a POLITICO report showing Hungary signed a pact with Moscow ahead of Sunday’s election.
Responding to questions about Russian government documents obtained by POLITICO and published Tuesday, which reveal Budapest negotiated on a string of areas of joint working with Moscow, Commission deputy chief spokesperson Arianna Podestà said the Kremlin does not honor its agreements.
“Our views on Russia’s reliability are very clear — it’s an unreliable partner. It has demonstrated so in the energy field,” Podestà said. “Not having the specifics, we will not be commenting further.”
The documents, signed by Hungarian Foreign Minister Péter Szijjártó, set out shared priorities across “current issues of bilateral trade and economic cooperation, joint activities in the energy sector, industry, health care, agriculture, construction, and other areas of mutual interest, as well as in the cultural and humanitarian sphere.”
Among the plans made were to expand joint working in the nuclear power industry, support more Russian language teachers and graduate students coming to Hungary, and begin new partnerships between sports teams and universities.
Hungary’s foreign policy trajectory has become a key issue in Sunday’s parliamentary election, where Prime Minister Viktor Orbán faces the toughest test of his 16-year hold on power. The veteran populist leader — who has pursued closer ties with the Kremlin and held up EU sanctions on Russia — lags behind center-right challenger Péter Magyar in the polls.
Orbán has accused his arch-rival of siding with Brussels, threatening to drag the country into a war and undermining its access to Russian fossil fuels, while Magyar has said the current government should be investigated for possible treason over its ties to the Kremlin.
