Hungary has said that it will veto any proposal to impose EU sanctions on Georgian officials for their crackdown on anti-government protests, calling such measures “nonsensical and unjustified.”
The announcement comes after Paweł Herczyński, the European Union’s ambassador to Georgia, said on Monday that the bloc is working on sanctions against Tbilisi.
The EU Foreign Affairs Council is set to discuss the issue on December 16.
Georgia, a South Caucasus nation of 3.7 million, has been gripped by nationwide protests over the past two weeks after Prime Minister Irakli Kobakhidze announced that Tbilisi would halt EU accession talks until 2028—a move the country’s pro-EU opposition views as a reversal of a long-standing national goal.
The protests have resulted in over 220 arrests, with Georgian police using tear gas and water cannons to quell the demonstrations.
The Hungarian Foreign Minister, Péter Szijjártó, said on Tuesday that he is “categorically against” any sanctions against Georgia, adding that Budapest will veto EU sanctions targeting Georgia’s interior minister and police chiefs.
Speaking alongside his Georgian counterpart, Maka Bochorishvili, in Budapest, Szijjártó said: “We oppose adding Georgian officials to any sanctions list. If such a suggestion arises, Hungary will block it—this is certain.”
Szijjártó also criticized the resolution passed by the European Parliament last month that called for a rerun of parliamentary elections in Georgia under international supervision.
The EU Foreign Affairs Council is set to discuss the issue on December 16.
Georgia, a South Caucasus nation of 3.7 million, has been gripped by nationwide protests over the past two weeks after Prime Minister Irakli Kobakhidze announced that Tbilisi would halt EU accession talks until 2028—a move the country’s pro-EU opposition views as a reversal of a long-standing national goal.
The protests have resulted in over 220 arrests, with Georgian police using tear gas and water cannons to quell the demonstrations.
The Hungarian Foreign Minister, Péter Szijjártó, said on Tuesday that he is “categorically against” any sanctions against Georgia, adding that Budapest will veto EU sanctions targeting Georgia’s interior minister and police chiefs.
Speaking alongside his Georgian counterpart, Maka Bochorishvili, in Budapest, Szijjártó said: “We oppose adding Georgian officials to any sanctions list. If such a suggestion arises, Hungary will block it—this is certain.”
Szijjártó also criticized the resolution passed by the European Parliament last month that called for a rerun of parliamentary elections in Georgia under international supervision.
Although the populist Georgian Dream party emerged victorious in the October 26 parliamentary elections, there were widespread accusations of electoral violations, with opposition parties claiming that the vote was fraudulent and refusing to take their seats in parliament.
While much of the Western world raised questions about the legitimacy of the election, Hungary’s Prime Minister Viktor Orbán was among the first to congratulate the Georgian Dream party on its victory, visiting the Caucasus country just two days after the vote.
Szijjártó said: “If the opposition had won the elections, Brussels would have been shouting loudly about democracy in Georgia. They would have said that democracy in Georgia has never been so strong, but the conservative party won the elections, and they are doing everything to deny and ignore the will of the citizens.”
Though Georgia is an EU candidate country, its relations with Brussels have deteriorated sharply after the pro-Russian Georgian Dream adopted a controversial “foreign agents” law in May, which critics say mirrors Russian legislation designed to gag NGOs and stifle dissent.
Hungary, a member of both the EU and NATO, is also often accused of being Moscow-friendly for repeatedly criticizing the EU’s military aid to Ukraine in its fight against Russian aggression and opposing the bloc’s sanctions on Russia.
While much of the Western world raised questions about the legitimacy of the election, Hungary’s Prime Minister Viktor Orbán was among the first to congratulate the Georgian Dream party on its victory, visiting the Caucasus country just two days after the vote.
Szijjártó said: “If the opposition had won the elections, Brussels would have been shouting loudly about democracy in Georgia. They would have said that democracy in Georgia has never been so strong, but the conservative party won the elections, and they are doing everything to deny and ignore the will of the citizens.”
Though Georgia is an EU candidate country, its relations with Brussels have deteriorated sharply after the pro-Russian Georgian Dream adopted a controversial “foreign agents” law in May, which critics say mirrors Russian legislation designed to gag NGOs and stifle dissent.
Hungary, a member of both the EU and NATO, is also often accused of being Moscow-friendly for repeatedly criticizing the EU’s military aid to Ukraine in its fight against Russian aggression and opposing the bloc’s sanctions on Russia.
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