Hungary expels 10 Russian diplomats, Moscow promises harsh response

Hungary has ordered 10 Russian diplomats to leave the country, accusing them of “unacceptable” activities that it says are incompatible with their diplomatic status.

Anita Orban, Hungary’s deputy prime minister and foreign minister, said on Tuesday that the decision to protect “Hungary’s security and sovereignty” does not mean the country is “breaking off diplomatic relations with Russia”.

Russia promised a “harsh and painful” response, the country’s Foreign Ministry spokeswoman Maria Zakharova told Russia’s TASS news agency.

Hungary was one of the few European Union allies to Russia after its full-scale invasion of Ukraine in 2022. Under the previous government, Budapest’s relations with Moscow were warm.

Former Prime Minister Viktor Orban (not related to current Deputy Prime Minister Anita Orban), who lost the elections last April after 16 years in power, reportedly told Russian President Vladimir Putin: “I am at your service” during last year’s phone call.

Hungary took a “legitimate decision”, EU spokesman Christian Wigand told journalists, adding that the EU “will continue to closely coordinate” the situation.

Many EU member states expelled Russian diplomats following Moscow’s all-out war on Ukraine, but Hungary was not one of them until now.