"Polish society experienced Russia's attack against Ukraine as if their homeland had been attacked. Evacuation plans were prepared in state institutions and offices, and children in kindergartens talked about who would take which plush toy if they were forced to flee. In such a state of agitation, it was difficult to understand Hungary's calm position seeking to avoid escalation," Mihaly Rosonczy-Kovacs told Magyar Nemzet when asked how well the Poles see and understand Hungary's pro-peace stance.
Sowing discord
The director of foreign relations at Nezopont Institute and board member of the Waclaw Felczak Foundation added that this is because
"the offshoots of the globalist disinformation machinery in Poland took advantage of the difference in the two countries' assessment of the situation. This machinery has always sought to poison Central European cooperation and especially Hungarian-Polish friendship as its driving force".
"The statements made by Hungary's leaders were misquoted, with half-sentences taken out of context in a bid to present Hungary's pro-peace position in false light. There was no talk at all about common strategic goals, and the vast majority of Poles had no information about Hungary's aid of historic scale provided to Ukraine," he pointed out.
This leads to the question: who has an interest in poisoning the centuries-old Hungarian-Polish friendship. Great and middle powers, for example, do not have an interest in the active cooperation between Central European nations, Mihaly Rosonczy-Kovacs opined. "In recent years, it has been proven several times: not only is the region economically successful, but with united action the region can also achieve political goals, such as curbing illegal migration in 2015," he said giving an example of joint success.
The political forces whose goals are at odds with ours are trying, from their point of view understandably, to disrupt Central Europe, to stoke feud, or at least distrust, between the countries of the region,
he warned.
According to the expert, the alliance may have been targeted because the right-wing Hungarian and Polish governments' vision of a self-reliant Europe based on Christianity, families, strong nations preserving their cultural features differs from the federalist vision, and therefore there are many efforts to weaken relations between Budapest and Warsaw.
Common strategic goals
The state of Hungarian-Polish relations and the impact of the war in Ukraine were also discussed at the 32nd Balvanyos Free Summer University and Student Camp in Baile Tusnad, where experts assessed the situation in a panel discussion entitled Trust in God and Keep the Gunpowder Dry - Security Policy in the Shadow of the Russia-Ukraine war. The roundtable was attended from Poland by Jacek Karnowski, editor-in-chief of the weekly Sieci and Michal Kwilecki, president of the Hungarian-Polish Friendship Society in Wroclaw; from Hungary by Attila Demko, head of the Center for Geopolitics at Mathias Corvinus Collegium and Matyas Szilagyi, senior researcher at the Hungarian Institute of International Affairs and former ambassador to Chisinau.
As a starting point, the discussion's moderator, Mihaly Rosonczy-Kovacs, quoting a sentence from Prime Minister Viktor Orban's state of the nation speech this year, recalled that Hungary and Poland share the same strategic goals.
We want Russia not to be a threat to Europe, and we want there to be a sufficiently broad and deep area between Russia and Hungary: a sovereign Ukraine.
Attila Demko reiterated that little is known about Hungary's real position in Europe, including Poland. "For Hungary, Ukraine's sovereignty is of fundamental strategic importance, and so is its territorial integrity, we repeatedly say. So there is no difference between the Hungarian and Polish positions," he explained. Hungary does not support Russia, he underlined. He also pointed out that a significant part of the oil and gas coming from Russia is transferred to Ukraine.
Russia will attack again
A productive, lively debate unfolded around the possibility of ending the war. The stakes are high, said Jacek Karnowski, as the goal is pushing back Russia and ensuring long-term security in the region.
If we do not defeat Russia, sooner or later it will attack again!
he warned.
Victory, according to Karnowski, means a complete Russian withdrawal, including from Crimea. Attila Demko, however, pointed out that it is impossible to see at what cost and in what timeframe a Ukrainian victory could be achieved. "We can see that the incredible amount of assistance given to Ukraine is not necessarily enough for a military victory," he opined.
Michal Kwilecki, who praised the calmness of the Hungarian political leadership, said that the success of the Ukrainian offensive depends on Joe Biden, but added that the attitude of the United States towards the war is inconsistent.
They help Ukraine enough not to lose, but not enough to win,
he pointed out. According to the political scientist from Wroclaw, it is important to be clear about what we mean by peace and what principles we want to follow to achieve it.
Knowing little about Hungary's position
Kwilecki confirmed that the Poles know little about the real stance Hungary holds and about the underlying reasons. He also pointed out how important Hungary is for Poland, for example in European political debates.
