The cause of the diplomatic dispute was statements made by Croatian Minister Ivan Anušić during a Croatian parliamentary committee meeting.
Anušić criticized Croatian President Zoran Milanović’s decision not to deploy Croatian military personnel to participate in NATO’s security and training mission for Ukraine (NSATU).
Anušić stated that if Croatia does not participate in NATO military missions, it will become like Serbia and Hungary, which publicly support Russia.
The Minister asked whether Croatia wants to side with Serbia and Hungary, who currently publicly support Putin, or if it wants to be part of the Western world, Western values, Western civilization, and Western democracy.
Hungary’s response to Croatian Minister’s statements
In response, Hungarian Foreign Minister Péter Szijjártó stated that Hungary seeks the best relations with all its neighbors, including Croatia.
“This is why it was unexpected to see the Croatian Defense Minister appear to have chosen a new sport, which would be to insult Hungarians. I respectfully ask the Croatian government not to drag us into their evidently heated domestic policy disputes with their President,” the Foreign Minister said.
Szijjártó added that Hungary had nothing to do with the dispute between the Croatian government and the head of state.
“They should settle this between themselves and should not insult Hungary under the guise of this in the future. I believe that our bilateral relations do not justify them dragging us into this dispute,” the Hungarian Foreign Minister added.
Later, Hungary’s Ministry of Foreign Affairs reported that Croatian Ambassador Mladen Andrlić was received by the Deputy State Secretary for the region.
Hungary’s position on Ukraine
At the October 17 summit, Hungarian Prime Minister Viktor Orbán once again blocked the EU’s efforts to impose sanctions on Russia, which hindered US involvement in a $50 billion loan to Ukraine.
By his actions, Orban is supporting Trump, who has criticized Ukraine’s financing and is seeking to make a deal with Russia.
Moreover, the Hungarian Prime Minister stated that Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy’s victory plan, presented to EU leaders, is allegedly doomed to fail.