Sharp exchange of blows between Poland and Hungary: Szijjarto accuses Tusk and Sikorski of lies

On Sunday, the head of the Hungarian Ministry of Foreign Affairs, Peter Szijjarto, accused Polish Prime Minister Donald Tusk and the head of Polish diplomacy Radosław Sikorski of “spreading lies” in posts on the X platform. Polish politicians commented on the Washington Post's reports that Szijjarto provided Russians with reports from meetings at the EU forum.

On Sunday, Prime Minister Tusk published a post on “The news that Orbán's people are informing Moscow about EU Council meetings in detail should not surprise anyone. We have long had suspicions about this. This is one of the reasons why I speak only when absolutely necessary and say only as much as necessary,” he wrote.

In response to this entry, Szijjarto encouraged Tusk to come to Budapest. “Instead of spreading lies and fake news, come to Budapest to support the opposition! Recently, it helped us (Fidesz – PAP),” he wrote.

The head of the Polish Ministry of Foreign Affairs also spoke on this matter. “That would explain a lot, Peter,” Radosław Sikorski wrote on Sunday on the X platform, at the same time posting a link to information from “The Washington Post” under this sentence. Szijjarto replied: “Fake news, as always. You are lying to support the TISZA party (Hungarian opposition leader Peter Magyar – PAP) and create a pro-war puppet government in Hungary. You will not succeed!”

On Saturday, Szijjarto commented on an entry in which Prime Minister Tusk criticized President Karol Nawrocki's trip to Budapest. The head of the Hungarian Ministry of Foreign Affairs wrote that the Polish Prime Minister should visit Hungary before the upcoming elections. “You should come to Budapest before April 12! Four years ago, you were the star of the opposition rally, after which we won the elections with a 20 percent majority. Think about it, Budapest is a great place!” – wrote Szijjarto.

Polish President Karol Nawrocki will come to Budapest next Monday to meet Prime Minister Orban, Marcin Przydacz, head of the presidential Office of International Policy, announced on Saturday. On the same day, the Polish-Hungarian Friendship Day is celebrated, the official celebration of which will take place in Przemyśl with the participation of Presidents Nawrocki and Tamas Sulyok of Hungary. Afterwards, the Polish president is to go to a meeting with the Hungarian prime minister.

Also on Monday in Budapest there will be the so-called Grand Assembly of the far-right Patriots for Europe coalition. They are to take part in it, among others: Marine Le Pen from the French National Rally and Italian Deputy Prime Minister Matteo Salvini, known in the past for their pro-Kremlin sympathies. The event is organized by the Foundation for a Civic Hungary (Polgari Magyarorszagert Alapitvany), a foundation associated with Orban's Fidesz party.

Prime Minister Donald Tusk said on Saturday that “President Nawrocki's participation in the Budapest meeting of pro-Russian and Eurosceptic politicians is a fatal mistake and confirmation of a dangerous strategy of weakening the European Union and strengthening Putin.”

The elections in Hungary will take place on April 12. Peter Magyar's opposition TISHA party leads Prime Minister Orban's Fidesz in most independent polls – in a February survey by Median, the party gained a 20-point advantage among decisive voters.

So far, Orban has received support from, among others, US President Donald Trump, and Szijjarto announced on Friday that US Vice President JD Vance will also come to Hungary before the elections.

Jakub Bawołek from Budapest (PAP)

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