Hungary Says to Veto Personal EU Sanctions as Georgian FM Visits Budapest
On December 10, Georgian Foreign Minister Maka Botchorishvili held a meeting and a joint press conference with her Hungarian counterpart Péter Szijjártó. During her visit to Hungary, she received confirmation from her counterpart that Hungary will block any initiative of the EU to sanction Georgian officials.
Secretary of State for Public Diplomacy and Relations of Hungary, Zoltán Kovács shared on Twitter (X) that Foreign Minister Szijjártó said during the press conference that Hungary will veto EU sanctions targeting Georgia’s interior minister and police chiefs, calling the proposal “nonsensical and unjustified.” He stressed: “We oppose adding Georgian officials to any sanctions list. If such a suggestion arises, Hungary will block it—this is certain.”
According to Kovács, while highlighting shared challenges, FM Szijjártó “praised Georgia’s recent election victory” and criticized what he termed the “liberal mainstream’s predictable response” of questioning the election’s legitimacy. “If the opposition had won, Brussels would be applauding democracy,” he said, calling the criticism of Georgia “hypocritical, tired, and repulsive.”
Minister Szijjártó reiterated Hungary’s full support for Georgia’s EU aspirations, urging Brussels to stop alienating the country. He condemned the European Parliament’s recent resolution, which he described as “insulting to an entire nation.” He emphasized: “The EU must treat Georgia with respect if it seeks integration.”
On her behalf, Georgian Foreign Minister Botchorishvili stated during the press conference that the Georgian Dream government remains committed to EU integration and that EU-Georgia relations should be based on “mutual respect”. She expressed hope that the issue of Georgia would be discussed objectively at the December 16 meeting of EU leaders, and also expressed concern about internal and external “pressure” on international election observation missions and efforts not to recognize the recent elections as legitimate.
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