Only one day after Hungarian President Katalin Novák’s visit to Ukraine, the U.S. ambassador to Budapest, David Pressman, said that the Hungarian government should follow the president’s example.
He welcomed Novak’s visit to Ukraine, where she had one-on-one talks with Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky. However, Pressman is not content with this gesture, writing that he hopes that the Hungarian government will soon follow the president’s example.
What Pressman does not mention, however, is that the president is also a part of the Hungarian government, has served as a government cabinet member in the past, and has also been a member of the ruling Fidesz party.
Reporting on Pressman’s remarks, news and opinion portal Mandiner pointed out that the government’s position is exactly the same as that of Katalin Novák in Ukraine. After her meeting with Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky in Kyiv, Novák said that among other things the two presidents have agreed to establish a presidential hotline between the two countries.
As Remix News reported earlier, ever since his appointment last August, Pressman has been a vocal critic of Hungary’s government and has run a number of controversial campaigns to encourage the Hungarian population to be more open to supporting Ukraine in the war.
Recently, the U.S. also placed new restrictions on visas for Hungarians, which the Hungarian government argues is retaliation for Hungary’s refusal to support the West’s war effort in Hungary; however, the Biden administration is also at odds with Hungary over a range of issues.
“The left-wing Biden administration wants to put pressure on our country to change our policies: They want Hungary to abandon its pro-peace stance, its anti-migration policy, and its rejection of gender ideology,” said Eszter Párkányi and Levente Szikra, two analysts working at the Hungarian think tank Center for Fundamental Rights.
