EU foreign policy chief issues fresh rebuke to Hungary’s Orban

BRUSSELS - Hungary’s Prime Minister Viktor Orban drew a fresh rebuke from European Union foreign policy chief Josep Borrell on July 6 after the nationalist leader attended a meeting of the Organisation of Turkic States in Azerbaijan.

Brussels, EU allies, the United States and Kyiv had already slammed Mr Orban, whose country took over the European Union’s rotating presidency this month, for

holding talks on the Ukraine war with Russian President Vladimir Putin

in Moscow on July 5.

EU officials blasted the surprise trip, saying it threatened to undermine the 27-member bloc’s stance on the conflict and stressed that he was not representing Brussels.

Mr Orban’s participation at an informal OTS summit in Azerbaijan on July 6 was the latest event where he represented Hungary alone and not the European Union, Mr Borrell said.

“Hungary has not received any mandate from the EU Council to advance the relations with the Organisation of Turkic States,” Mr Borrell said in a statement.

Mr Orban has already sparred with Brussels over his controversial travels.

“Are we allowed to have dinner, or do we need a #EUCO mandate for that too?“ his political director wrote on X, formerly Twitter, after the Moscow trip.

The EU also rejected OTS’ attempts to legitimise the unrecognised Turkish Republic of Northern Cyprus by admitting it as an observer, said Mr Borrell.

The island of Cyprus has been divided for decades between the internationally recognised, Greek-speaking Republic of Cyprus, an EU member, and the Turkish-speaking TRNC, recognised only by Ankara.

The OTS is an international organisation bringing together countries with Turkic languages, founded in 2009 by Turkey, Azerbaijan, Kazakhstan and Kyrgyzstan.

Hungary became an observer of the group in 2018. AFP