Slovakian Minister of Foreign and European Affairs Rastislav Káčer appeared on local television channel Markíza where he made stunning statements about Hungary.

Káčer told the interviewer that ‘had Vladimir Putin succeeded in Ukraine, Hungary would have already made territorial claims against Slovakia’. He also added that ‘this topic is already relevant, that is why it is especially important for Slovakia that Putin fails in Ukraine.’

He was also asked a question about the the ‘incident’ of Prime Minister Orbán wearing a scarf with a picture of the historical Greater Hungary map, while bidding farewell to all-time most capped Hungarian footballer Balázs Dzsudzsák retiring from the national team. In response, Káčer said that based on ‘a thick stack of intelligence files in his vault’ and the fact that he had lived in Hungary for five years between 2013 and 2018 as Slovakia’s ambassador, he is confident that ‘serious strategic issues’ were manifested in PM Orbán’s particular scarf.

On this very same TV show, Speaker of the National Council Boris Kollár had expressed similar sentiments. Appearing there in April 2022, he claimed that Hungary may be after Slovakian territories if Putin’s invasion of Ukraine sufficiently destabilises Europe. He had previously also praised the Trianon treaty as having freed Slovaks from under ‘Hungarian oppression’.

Hungarian officials were quick to respond to the past claims by Kollár. Minister of Foreign Affairs Péter Szijjártó said at the time: ‘Mr President has missed the calendar at least by a decade, as today, both Hungary and Slovakia are in the EU. It is in Hungary’s interest to develop the bilateral relationship.’

Only about a month ago, Prime Minister Viktor Orbán visited Bratislava to attend a gala evening commemorating Slovakia’s Day of Establishment.