Hungary Summons Ukrainian Ambassador Over 'Insulting' Budapest

MOSCOW (Sputnik) - The Hungarian foreign ministry said on Wednesday that it has summoned Ukrainian Ambassador Liubov Nepop over the criticism voiced by her and other Kiev officials regarding Hungary's stance on the Ukrainian conflict.

"It is time for the Ukrainian leaders to stop insulting Hungary and to take note of the will of the Hungarian people," Hungarian Foreign Minister Peter Szijjarto said in a statement shared by Hungarian Secretary of State Zoltan Kovacs on social media.

He said that Hungary stands by Ukrainian sovereignty and supports Ukrainian refugees, but will put the interest of its own people first.

"This is not our war, so we want to stay out of it and we will stay out of it," he added.

Nepop has on several occasions publicly slammed Hungarian Prime Minister Viktor Orban for not showing more support for Ukraine amid the Russian military operation. On Monday, Volodymyr Zelenskyy spoke critically of Orban's victory in the April 3 elections.

Orban is opposed to sanctioning the Russian energy sector, as he believes that this would harm his country more than Moscow. On 30 March, Szijjarto accused Kiev of trying to influence the results of the parliamentary elections.

On Tuesday, Russian Ambassador to Hungary Yevgeny Stanislavov said in an interview with Sputnik that the Ukrainian ambassador has discussed with Ukrainian Foreign Minister Dmytro Kuleba options of collaboration with the Hungarian opposition to influence the results of elections.