Hungary has ordered 10 Russian diplomats to leave Budapest, accusing them of “unacceptable” activities incompatible with their diplomatic status, in a dramatic reversal that ends years of close alignment with Moscow under former Prime Minister Viktor Orbán.
The expulsion marks a sharp break from Hungary’s long-standing pro-Kremlin posture. It was announced on Tuesday. Foreign Minister Anita Orbán, who also serves as deputy prime minister and is not related to the former prime minister, wrote on social media that the decision protects “Hungary’s security and sovereignty.” She did not give details of the activities that prompted the expulsions.
The move matters because it signals that Hungary’s new government, elected in April, is dismantling the foreign policy legacy of Viktor Orbán, who lost power after 16 years and had positioned Budapest as Moscow’s closest partner within the European Union. Many EU member states expelled Russian diplomats following Moscow’s full-scale invasion of Ukraine in 2022, but Hungary was not one of them until now.
Moscow promises retaliation
Russia’s response was swift and bitter. Foreign Ministry spokeswoman Maria Zakharova told the TASS news agency that “the response to the Russophobic lobby will be harsh and painful.” Russia’s ambassador to Budapest, Evgeny Stanislavov, complained that Hungary’s promise of pragmatic cooperation was worth absolutely nothing. He called the expulsion an “unprecedented and ungrounded escalation.” Stanislavov also reacted bitterly to Anita Orbán’s stated intention to continue “the necessary dialogue, based on mutual respect and adherence to the rules.”
Anita Orbán said the decision does not imply breaking off diplomatic relations with Russia. She and Prime Minister Péter Magyar have both called on Russia to bring an end to the war in Ukraine.
The shift has been building for months. In May, Anita Orbán summoned the Russian ambassador to protest a large drone attack on Ukraine’s Transcarpathia region, home to a large Hungarian minority. Commentators pointed out that her predecessor had not summoned the ambassador since the start of Russia’s full-scale invasion in 2022.
A new government breaks with the past
Prime Minister Péter Magyar promised “pragmatic” relations with Moscow from the moment his Tisza party was elected in April. Last month he formally broke with previous Fidesz policies, issuing guidelines stating Russia’s conduct in Ukraine “poses a threat to Hungary, Europe and the global order, and also puts the Hungarian minority living in Transcarpathia in serious danger.”
Under Viktor Orbán, Hungary had for years insisted on maintaining close relations with Moscow, partly citing cheap Russian oil imports. Orbán objected to the EU’s supply of aid to Ukraine and repeatedly delayed packages of sanctions on Russia. Al Jazeera reported that Orbán told Russian President Vladimir Putin, “I am at your service,” during a phone call last year.
Ahead of the April elections, the independent Russian investigative website Agentsvo reported that 15 of the 47 Russian embassy staff in Budapest were linked to Russian intelligence agencies, and that six more might be linked.
The Russian embassy in Budapest rejected as false a report alleging that three Russian military intelligence officers had travelled to Budapest to influence the Hungarian vote. Russia has routinely denied its embassies are used for espionage.
The European Union backed Hungary’s decision. EU spokesman Christian Wigand told journalists it was a “legitimate decision” and that the EU “will continue to closely coordinate” the situation. Hundreds of Russian diplomats have been expelled across Europe since 2022, and Russia has responded in kind.
András Telkes, a former deputy head of Hungarian foreign intelligence, told the BBC that Russian spying activity had been investigated before the election but the Fidesz government had prevented any action being taken. The big question now, he said, is how Moscow will respond. “If 10 Hungarian diplomats were to be expelled from Moscow, in a tit-for-tat move, that would effectively close the Hungarian embassy there,” Telkes said.