"In her speech yesterday, Germany's ambassador to Budapest seriously interfered in Hungary’s internal affairs in a way that violated the sovereignty of our country,” Peter Szijjarto wrote.
"In all cases we expect respect from ambassadors serving in our country, the ambassador's speech is therefore completely unacceptable,
Hungary's foreign affairs and trade minister posted on social media.
The ambassador has been summoned to the Ministry of Foreign Affairs and Trade for this afternoon
he added.
As Mandiner reported, the German Embassy in Budapest was holding its traditional Day of German Unity reception on Wednesday evening to commemorate the October 3, 1990 reunification of the Federal Republic of Germany the German Democratic Republic.
Photo: Andras Mayer
In her opening speech at the reception, Julia Gross, Germany's ambassador to Hungary, did mention the important role Hungarians had in German reunification and that Hungary had gained a significant amount of trust at the time of its accession to the EU,
however, she spent far more time openly and unabashedly criticizing the government of her host country.
"Currently, we are viewing with concern that the Hungarian government is putting this capital, which is also your capital, at risk in a political wager with a completely uncertain purpose and uncertain outcome.
This trust is now increasingly eroding," Ambassador Julia Gross said.
The ambassador denounced the prime minister's peace mission, which coincided with the start of Hungary's EU presidency, and "the theater regarding the accession of Finland and Sweden to NATO", Mandiner writes.
Among other things, she also said, "I assume you Hungarian voters - no matter your political orientation - are increasingly asking yourselves: how does this serve my interests, how does this make life better in Hungary?".
Noting that the government chose to be present at a lower than ministerial level at the reception which happened to coincide with the several-day government meeting in Geszt, Ambassador Julia Gross suggested to those present that "if you want us to have closer relations again, if you want Hungary to use its capital of respect and trust for the benefit of its citizens, if you want to make visible once again what constitutes German-Hungarian friendship, then please convey this in a way that will be heard. Tell your friends, your family, your colleagues, your mayors, your representatives in parliament, and the members of government."
Cover photo: Hungarian Foreign Affairs and Trade Minister Peter Szijjarto at a joint press conference with Ukrainian Foreign Affairs Minister Andrii Sybiha at the Ministry of Foreign Affairs and Trade in Budapest on September 30, 2024 (Photo: MTI/Robert Hegedus)
