Hungary’s opposition leader tells Russia to avoid interfering in country’s elections

Hungarian opposition leader Peter Magyar has sought assurances from Russia that it will refrain from interference in his country’s politics, saying there would be no scope for meaningful cooperation without respecting its sovereignty.

Earlier this week, Russia’s Foreign Intelligence Service (SVR) published a statement describing Magyar as being loyal to “globalist elites” and alleging that the European Commission was considering “regime change in Budapest.”

Magyar, whose Tisza Party is ahead of Prime Minister Viktor Orban’s Fidesz in most polls ahead of parliamentary elections due next spring, published an open letter to Russia’s ambassador in Hungary, asking what was the intended effect of the SVR statement.

“I demand clear assurances that the Russian Federation will refrain from any actions that could be deemed as interference in Hungary’s domestic politics, including disinformation campaigns, cyber operations or the intimidation of politicians and citizens,” Magyar said in the letter published on Facebook on Sunday (August 17).

The Russian Embassy in Budapest did not immediately respond to emailed questions for comment.

In power since 2010, Orban has been criticised by some fellow EU leaders for his government’s warm ties with Moscow and opposition to military aid for Ukraine. Orban has also accused EU leaders of plotting to topple him.

Magyar, a former government insider, has previously said he would strive for “pragmatic relations” with Russia, which supplies Hungary with most of its energy and is also involved in an expansion of its Paks nuclear plant.

He said the SVR’s statement showed Russia was trying to intervene directly to sway voters in Hungary, which is a member of the NATO military alliance but which under Orban has refused to send weapons to neighbouring Ukraine.

“Hungary’s sovereignty and the inviolability of our democratic processes cannot be negotiable. Adherence to these principles is the minimum requirement for any meaningful bilateral cooperation between our countries,” Magyar said.