Russia seeks Hungary’s support in its confrontation with Ukraine — Lavrov

Russian Foreign Minister Sergey Lavrov said this in an interview with Magyar Nemzet.

He repeated Kremlin narratives about alleged persecution of Russians in Ukraine. According to him, they were "forbidden from using the Russian language in education, science, culture, media, advertising, the service industry, and even in daily life."

Lavrov claims that representatives of national minorities underwent "forced Ukrainiazation."

"Other ethnic groups, including Hungarians, Romanians, Poles, Bulgarians, Armenians, Belarusians, and Greeks, also faced forced Ukrainization. Budapest is well aware of this. Today, Russia and Hungary openly stand up for their compatriots. We can combine our efforts in this regard," said the diplomat.

It should be noted that Hungary often blocks or hinders European initiatives aimed at supporting Ukraine or increasing sanctions against Russia. Budapest also sharply criticizes Ukraine's language and education laws, claiming "violations of the rights of the Hungarian minority" in Transcarpathia. Moreover, Hungarian authorities are obstructing Ukraine's negotiations with the EU on accession. On June 26, Prime Minister Viktor Orbán stated that 2,284,732 Hungarians participated in his referendum, and 2,168,431 allegedly voted against Ukraine's EU membership.

"My voice has become stronger and bolder, and I will speak on behalf of more than two million Hungarians in negotiations, stating that Hungary does not support Ukraine's accession to the European Union," said the Prime Minister.

At the same time, it is known that anti-Ukrainian propaganda materials were distributed alongside the ballots. Their authors claimed that after Ukraine's EU accession, pensions would be at risk, epidemics would spread, cheap, low-quality agricultural products would flood the Hungarian market, Ukrainian organized crime would appear, and the mass arrival of Ukrainians would take away jobs from Hungarians.

• President Volodymyr Zelenskyy asserts that the only country currently blocking Ukraine's EU membership is Hungary.
• Lavrov stated that Russia is allegedly ready for negotiations, but it is not satisfied with the pause that the Ukrainian side may use to regroup its troops.