Hungary is expelling 10 members of the Russian diplomatic mission after they “engaged in activities in Hungary that are unacceptable for diplomats under the Vienna Convention”, Budapest said Tuesday.
The new government under pro-EU conservative Prime Minister Peter Magyar made the move to protect Hungary’s “security and sovereignty”, foreign minister Anita Orban said in a Facebook post.
Hungary has “called on the individuals in question to leave” the country, she said.
She added that the action “does not imply breaking off diplomatic relations with Russia”.
“Hungary intends to continue the necessary dialogue, based on mutual respect and adherence to the rules,” Orban said, without giving details of what the mission staffers had allegedly done.
Moscow vowed to retaliate against the expulsions.
“The response to the Russophobic lobby in Budapest will be harsh and painful,” foreign ministry spokeswoman Maria Zakharova told the TASS state news agency.
EU spokesman Christian Wigand told journalists that Hungary took a “legitimate decision” and “an expected reaction in view of Russia’s persistent campaign in using hybrid attacks against the EU and its member states”.
“The European Union will continue to closely coordinate with Hungary and other member states, and remains committed to protecting the interests and the rights of EU citizens,” he said.
Hungary’s former nationalist prime minister Viktor Orban, who lost power in April elections after 16 years, maintained close ties with Russia and President Vladimir Putin.
Since taking office in May, Magyar has sought to mend ties with the EU and Kyiv that were tense under his predecessor.
Hungary had not joined other European countries in expelling Russian diplomats in large numbers following Russia’s full-scale invasion of Ukraine in 2022.