Poland is downgrading diplomatic relations with Hungary because there are “many different problems” in relations between Warsaw and Budapest, the first of which is the granting of political asylum to former Polish Deputy Minister of Justice Marcin Romanowski.
This was stated by Polish Foreign Ministry Spokesperson Paweł Wroński in a comment to a Ukrinform correspondent.
Responding to a question about whether one of the reasons for Warsaw’s decision was Budapest’s actions to block the opening of the first negotiation clusters on Ukraine’s accession to the EU during Poland’s presidency of the European Union, Wroński noted that there were several reasons.
“The first reason is the granting of political asylum to former Deputy Minister Marcin Romanowski, who is wanted for criminal offences. … Of course, there are many other problems in relations with Hungary,” Wroński emphasised.
He added that Polish-Hungarian friendship, which has existed since the 11th century, is still strong, and the problems concern only relations at the intergovernmental level.
On July 15, Polish diplomat Sebastian Kęciek, who had been there for three years, resigned as Ambassador of the Republic of Poland to Hungary. After that, Hungarian State Secretary for Parliamentary Affairs and Deputy Minister, Ministry of Foreign Affairs and Trade, Levente Magyar, announced on social media that Poland had finally revoked its Ambassador to Hungary, “officially downgrading the level of bilateral diplomatic relations.”
According to the agency, Warsaw condemned Budapest’s decision to grant political asylum to former Polish Deputy Minister of Justice and Law and Justice (PiS) MP Marcin Romanowski, who is accused of criminal offenses and was recently placed on an international wanted list.
Polish Prime Minister Donald Tusk and members of the Polish Council of Ministers also frequently criticize Hungarian Prime Minister Viktor Orbán and the Hungarian government for their openly pro-Russian stance and aggressive anti-Ukrainian narratives.
Photo: Michal Zebrowski / East News
