Hungarian Foreign Minister Anita Orban has decided to expel 10 Russian embassy staff.
"Acting on my instructions, a representative of the Foreign Ministry informed Russia's ambassador to Hungary on Tuesday that, in the assessment of Hungarian authorities, 10 members of the Russian diplomatic mission had been engaged in activities in Hungary that are unacceptable for diplomats under the Vienna Convention. The Hungarian side has therefore called on these individuals to leave Hungary," she wrote on X Tuesday.
The decision is aimed at protecting Hungary's security and sovereignty, according to Orban. "It does not mean a break in diplomatic relations with Russia. Hungary intends to continue the necessary dialogue based on mutual respect and adherence to the rules."
An investigation by Hungarian outlet Direkt36 and RTL found in 2022 that, while most EU states expelled Russian diplomats after Russia's full-scale invasion of Ukraine began, Hungary's number of Russian diplomats grew by almost a third.
In May of this year, Hungary expelled a Russian diplomat who had acted in Russia's interests and with foreign policy think tanks close to Viktor Orban's government.
