Nevertheless, Moscow Signals Openness to Dialogue With Budapest.

On Monday, Kremlin spokesman Dmitry Peskov said Russia will not congratulate Peter Magyar, leader of the opposition Tisza party, on his victory in Hungary’s parliamentary elections held Sunday.

“We do not send congratulations to unfriendly countries, and Hungary is an unfriendly country because it supports the sanctions imposed on us,” the Russian official said.

Peskov added that Russia remains open to dialogue with Hungary but is waiting to see what the new government’s overall course will be. “It is difficult to say whether it will remain pragmatic or become politicized,” he said.

Hours earlier, the Kremlin had already signaled its willingness to continue pragmatic contacts with Budapest despite the electoral defeat of Viktor Orban, who blocked support for Ukraine and a new package of European sanctions against Russia. “Hungary made its choice. We respect it,” the Russian presidential spokesman said.

With 96.9% of the vote counted, Magyar’s Tisza party secured 138 out of 199 seats in the Parliament. The governing Fidesz party won 55 seats, and the far-right Our Homeland organization took six seats.

In his first speech after his landslide victory was confirmed, Magyar promised to turn Hungary into “a strong ally of the European Union and NATO.”

He also said he expects Hungarian President Tamas Sulyok, whom he described as a puppet of Orban, to carry out a “short and rapid” transition by convening parliament before May 12.

“We have no time to lose. The country was robbed and driven into debt. We are now the poorest and most corrupt country in the EU. Hungarians voted for change. We had to change the regime because the country was run by an organized criminal group,” said Hungary’s future prime minister.

Magyar also alleged that authorities in the Orban administration are destroying documents to cover up their actions over the past 16 years, including secret agreements signed by the Hungarian government.

Regarding his plans for the government he will lead, Magyar highlighted signing Hungary’s accession to the European Public Prosecutor’s Office, creating an “Asset Recovery Office” to locate funds embezzled by Orban’s system, and limiting the premiership to two four-year terms.

Magyar, a 45-year-old economist who comes from Orban’s Fidesz party, spoke before dozens of journalists from around the world at a podium in front of about 20 Hungarian flags, flanked by two European Union flags that Orban never displayed during his appearances.

Magyar also called on nations to respect Hungary as a sovereign country that is a member of the EU and NATO. “Hungary will not interfere in internal affairs either, whether in the Balkans, Spain or Slovakia,” the future prime minister said.

teleSUR/ JF

Source: EFE

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