HUNGARY AND THE CONFLICT IN UKRAINE

Abstract

In the article, the author attempts to analyze the features of the Hungarian approach to the conflict in Ukraine, which only partially meets the general concerns of Central European countries and does not fit into the logic of Brussels. The concern, as in the case of other Central European countries, is related to historical concerns about Russia, in the case of Hungary, bearing the burden of the «strangler of freedom», which Hungarians sought in the middle of the 19th and 20th centuries. However, Hungary also has its own concerns, which are related to the presence in Ukraine of a considerable Hungarian diaspora, which is at the same time the indigenous population of the Transcarpathian district. The presence of the Hungarian diaspora in the border region, in Vojvodina, if we recall the war in Yugoslavia, determined Hungary’s position not only during the entire conflict, but was also accepted by NATO as a convincing explanation for Budapest’s unwillingness to take part in its 1999 campaign. If we talk about contradictions with Brussels, then Viktor Orban’s position can again be explained by two points, one of which at the first place is the desire for autonomy in decision-making within the framework of Euro-Atlantic integration. The second, but not the least important place is occupied by pragmatic relations with Russia, carried out through personal contacts between the two leaders. Between the last two motives there is an undeniable link akin to the origins of the Hungarian policy of «Opening to the East». Thus, the Hungarian approach to what is happening in the east is a rather complex combination of fears, aspirations and pragmatism.