Hungary can leave the European Union and NATO if it does not like the blocs’ policies, Poland's Deputy Foreign Minister Wladyslaw Teofil Bartoszewski suggested on Sunday. The comments came in response to Prime Minister Viktor Orban’s sharp criticism of Warsaw's policies the day before.
During a visit to Romania, Orban had accused Poland of pursuing “the most sanctimonious and two-faced policy in the whole of Europe,” saying it is “obliviously doing business with the Russians,” while “morally lecturing” Budapest for doing the same.
”We do not do business with Russia, unlike Prime Minister Orban, who is on the margins of international society - both in the European Union and NATO,” Bartoszewski retorted, as quoted by PAP news agency.
“I don’t really understand why Hungary wants to remain a member of organizations that it doesn’t like so much,” Bartoszewski continued.
”If you don't want to be a member of a club, you can always leave,” added the official, suggesting that Orban create a union with Russia instead.
Hungary’s prime minister was condemned by a number of EU politicians earlier this month for going against the bloc’s policies and embarking on a “peace mission” to try and find a diplomatic solution to the Ukraine conflict, during which he visited Kiev, Moscow and China. Budapest has been granted exemptions from the EU sanctions and continues to buy oil and gas from Russia.
During his speech in Romania, Orban did not specify what he was referring to when saying that Poland was still doing business with Moscow.
The Russian financial daily Vedomosti reported last week that Poland had emerged as a top buyer of the Russian fertilizer urea. The publication cited Eurostat data as showing that Warsaw had increased imports by 25% between January and May this year, compared to the same period in 2023, amid a bloc-wide increase of Russian fertilizer imports. EU sanctions against Russia exclude food supplies and fertilizers.
The Polish financial daily Rzeczpospolita reported in February that compared to 2019–2021, the period before the introduction of a broad range of sanctions against Russia, Poland’s trade turnover with some Eurasian countries, such as Kyrgyzstan and Armenia, had increased by several hundred percent. The publication went on to suggest that the trade between Poland and Russia was continuing though intermediaries in other countries, thus bypassing the sanctions.
Poland has been among the most vocal supporters of Ukraine in its conflict with Russia. It has served as NATO’s primary conduit for weapons, ammunition, and equipment deliveries to Kiev, while maintaining it is not actually a party to the hostilities.