Orban condemned for being only leader not to applaud Zelenskyy at EU summit

Hungarian Prime Minister Viktor Orban “can’t even muster the decency to applaud the leader of a nation being wiped off the earth by Russia,” Belgian MEP Guy Verhofstadt has said.

The former leader of the liberal alliance in the European Parliament made the remarks alongside a video of Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy being applauded by EU leaders as they gathered in Brussels – with the notable exception of Mr Orban.

“The spirit of ’56 has left Hungary’s regime for good,” the former prime minister of Belgium tweeted, a reference to the 1956 Hungarian Revolution in which the country rose up against the USSR’s domination of Hungary’s government.

Hungary has previously criticised EU sanctions on Russia over the invasion, arguing they failed to weaken Moscow meaningfully and risked destroying the European economy, and the country has refused to send weapons to Ukraine.

Mr Orban was criticised last year for wearing a scarf to a football match which depicted some Ukrainian territory as part of Hungary.

Categories: Articole de interes general