The Ukrainian Foreign Ministry has said Russia's influence on Hungary has been growing.
"Politically, I can assume that Moscow's influence on Budapest is , unfortunately, growing and this is a threat not only to Kyiv but also to Europe, to NATO unity and to the understanding of how Russia acts in a hybrid way," Deputy Foreign Minister Vasyl Bodnar said in an interview with Radio Liberty.
In his opinion, Hungary uses its NATO membership to put pressure Ukraine in the interests of a "third party".
"Hungarians living in Ukraine are part of Ukrainian society, their security should be a key interest for Hungary. Therefore, Ukraine's presence in NATO would be more beneficial to Hungary than the opposite. Therefore, I suspect that Hungary is pushing not its interest in NATO but the interest of a third party," Bodnar said. He added that by the" third party" he means Russia.
Bodnar earlier expressed the hope that because of the recent elections in Hungary, Ukraine would be able to resume a constructive dialogue with this country.
On 8 April, Hungary held the parliamentary election, in which the political alliance Fidesz-KDNP led by incumbent Prime Minister Viktor Orban celebrated a confident victory.