Hungary Unexpectedly Refuses to Host German Foreign Minister

The visit of German Foreign Minister Annalena Baerbock, scheduled for July 8, to Hungary will not take place. The Hungarian side has canceled the meeting between Baerbock and Hungary's Foreign Minister Peter Szijjarto in Budapest at the last minute. This was confirmed by the German Foreign Ministry on the evening of July 5, adding that Baerbock's visit to Budapest will be organized at a later date.

The German side expressed regret over the cancellation of Annalena Baerbock's visit. "A serious and sincere conversation between the two foreign ministers would have been very important following Hungarian Prime Minister Viktor Orbán's unexpected and uncoordinated visit to Moscow," the German Foreign Ministry stated, according to Deutsche Welle.

Since July 1, Hungary has assumed the presidency of the European Union. Orbán's uncoordinated visit to Moscow on July 5 to negotiate with Russian President Vladimir Putin has triggered extremely negative reactions from his EU and NATO partners. European Commission President Ursula von der Leyen clarified that Orbán's individual actions pose a threat to the trust within the European Union. German Chancellor Olaf Scholz, for his part, emphasized that Orbán is visiting Putin as Hungary's Prime Minister, and not as a representative of the European Union's foreign policy.