Hungarian Prime Minister Viktor Orbán claims that Vladimir Putin personally assured him that Hungary would not face Russian retaliation if it voted “appropriately” at the EU summit.
According to a video published by a government-linked propagandist, Orbán said he had written to Putin weeks earlier, asking whether Moscow would respond if the EU seized frozen Russian central bank assets — and whether Russia would take into account how individual member states voted.
Orbán claims Putin replied that Russia would use all instruments of international law to retaliate, and that these responses would indeed depend on each country’s position.
“We Hungarians have protected ourselves,” Orbán said, adding that Hungary made it clear it would not support the seizure of any country’s frozen reserves — not only Russia’s.
Orbán also suggested that if the EU can seize Russian reserves, Hungary’s own reserves could be next, noting that part of Hungary’s foreign currency reserves are held in the same locations.
Following this, Orbán reportedly instructed Finance Minister Mihály Varga to find a way to relocate Hungary’s reserves — raising serious concerns about central bank independence.
This is not diplomacy.
This is open acknowledgment of political pressure, conditional voting, and foreign leverage inside the EU.
A few weeks ago, I wrote a letter to the President of Russia; I do not know whether this became public.
[00:00:05]
I asked him whether, if the Union were to seize the frozen Russian assets, there would be retaliatory measures,
[00:00:15]
and whether, in the course of those retaliatory measures, the Russians would take into account how each country voted on this decision.
[00:00:21]
And I received a reply stating that, using all instruments of international law, there would be strong retaliatory measures,
[00:00:28]
and that they would take into account how each member state of the Union had taken a position.
[00:00:34]
So we Hungarians have protected ourselves, and we made it clear — and I do so again now — that Hungary will not support the seizure of the frozen foreign currency reserves of any country,
[00:00:41]
not only Russia, but any country.
[00:00:48]
Hungary will not support this under any circumstances.
[00:00:51]
Moreover, there is another branching but important issue, because Hungarian foreign currency reserves are also held in the same place where the Russian ones are now.
[00:01:00]
And if it is possible to take the Russians’ reserves once, what if it occurs to someone to take the Hungarians’ as well?
[00:01:05]
Therefore, I have already instructed the Minister of Finance and the Governor of the central bank that, if this decision is made,
[00:01:10]
they should immediately submit a proposal to the government on how we should think, under such circumstances, about the secure placement of Hungary’s foreign currency reserves.