Kremlin reacts to Orban’s defeat in Hungarian election

Moscow hopes to establish dialogue with the next prime minister, Dmitry Peskov has said

Russia expects to maintain “pragmatic” relations with Hungary after Peter Magyar’s Tisza party defeated Prime Minister Viktor Orban’s Fidesz in the general election, Kremlin spokesperson Dmitry Peskov has stated.

Magyar’s center-right opposition Tisza party secured over 53% of the vote in Sunday’s vote, which gives it a qualified majority in the country’s 199-seat parliament.

Orban, who conceded defeat, had charted an independent course, ruffling more than a few feathers in Brussels. During his time in office, he consistently opposed the EU’s sanctions against Russia and military aid to Ukraine, vetoing the bloc’s planned €90 billion loan package for Kiev. His government had advocated pragmatic relations with Moscow, especially in terms of energy supplies.

Fidesz also strongly opposed EU-imposed policies regarding migration and LGBTQ rights.

Speaking to reporters on Monday, Peskov said that Russia has taken note of Magyar’s recent statements expressing a readiness to continue dialogue with Moscow.

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While no contact is planned between Russian President Vladimir Putin and Magyar for the time being, the Kremlin hopes to establish dialogue with the likely future Hungarian prime minister in due course, according to Peskov.

He pointed out that Moscow and Budapest have a number of joint projects that “need to be finalized together.”

“We are open to dialogue with [the new Hungarian leadership], we are open to building friendly [and] mutually beneficial relations,” the Kremlin spokesperson reiterated. Whether or not this will be a success largely depends on the new Hungarian government’s position, which has yet to be articulated clearly, he concluded.