Russia Vows ‘Appropriate Response’ to Hungary Over Diplomat Expulsion

According to the International Desk of Webangah News Agency, Russia‘s Ambassador to Budapest, Yevgeny Stanislavov, stated that the Hungarian Ministry of Foreign Affairs’ decision to expel Russian diplomats is an unprecedented and unjustified move aimed at escalating tensions. Stanislavov asserted that Moscow will react appropriately to Hungary’s actions, rendering Budapest’s stated readiness to maintain dialogue channels with Russia and continue pragmatic cooperation entirely worthless.

Previously, the Russian Foreign Ministry had declared that Moscow’s response would be “harsh and painful.” Maria Zakharova, spokesperson for the Russian Foreign Ministry, told the state-run TASS news agency that the response to “Russophobic lobbying in Budapest” would be severe and damaging. This expulsion follows a prior incident in May where a Russian diplomat was expelled from Hungary on charges of espionage. In the same month, the Hungarian Foreign Minister summoned the Russian ambassador following Russian drone attacks on the Zakarpattia region in western Ukraine, an area with a significant ethnic Hungarian population.