While speaking at the Sedona Forum, an annual gathering of world leaders organized by the McCain Institute in Sedona, Arizona, US Ambassador to Hungary David Pressman sharply criticized the Hungarian government’s foreign policy in the Russo-Ukrainian war.
This is hardly anything out of the ordinary.
Ambassador Pressman has a habit of taking every opportunity to badmouth his host nation’s leadership, be it about domestic or foreign policy, despite both the US and Hungary being part of the NATO military alliance.
This time, Ambassador Pressman had this to say:
‘Instead of diversifying off of Russian energy, Hungary is doubling down on Gazprom…Instead of resolutely standing up in the face of Putin’s aggression and war of choice in Ukraine, Hungary is instead parroting Vladimir Putin’s talking point with respect to a desire for peace. I mean, the official Hungarian position is that they advocated for the United States and our allies and partners to stop arming, equipping, and supporting Ukraine under the theory that stopping our support of Ukraine, as it literally fights for its very existence on its very own soil, would stop Putin.
History shows the reverse is true. It’s not a proposal for peace, it’s a proposal for capitulation. And it’s obviously not the approach of the United States, nor is it the approach of the Transatlantic Alliance.’
Balázs Orbán, political director for the Prime Minister of Hungary took to the social media platform X (formerly Twitter) to set a few things straight, in a reply to a clip of Ambassador Pressman’s speech at the Sedona Forum.
Director Orbán posed the potent question: ‘Has the US strategy really been that effective over the past two years?’
As he points out, despite the United States spending $174 billion of its taxpayers’ money on Ukraine’s defence, on top of the €143 billion the European Union sent in aid, the war is still ongoing after more than two years, with no major breakthrough made by the Ukrainian side. Meanwhile, both belligerent parties have suffered casualties in the hundreds of thousands.
The U.S. Ambassador is surprisingly confident in criticizing Hungary’s pro-peace position. Has the U.S. strategy really been that effective over the past two years?
— Balázs Orbán (@BalazsOrban_HU) May 18, 2024
1. Casualties are estimated to be between 500.000 and 1 million people, including many ethnic Hungarians.… https://t.co/QRHM23DgRi
‘We are not advocating for capitulation but for a ceasefire by both parties. Perhaps Hungary’s position is sensible after all, and it is time to unite and call for peace. The sooner the US urges both sides to negotiate, the sooner the war can end,’ Director Orbán clarified the Hungarian government’s stance on the matter to conclude his rebuttal.
This is not the first time Balázs Orbán has gotten into a public spat of a similar fashion with Ambassador Pressman. Back in October 2023, for example, the Ambassador yet again criticized Hungary for ‘pleading for business deals’ with President Putin of Russia. However, Director Orbán was quick to point out that since the ear broke out, the United States doubled the volume of enriched uranium it buys from Russia.
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