The two leaders met face-to-face on the sidelines of Thursday’s European Political Community summit, after which Orbán declared Croatia a “historic strategic partner,” in an apparent attempt to bury the hatchet.
POLITICO scorecard: Plenković 10, Orbán 9.
Orbán tried to put Croatia in a corner, but Plenković’s smackdown, including using Orbán’s own invective against him, had the Hungarian leader tapping out.
Orbán vs. Tusk
After Polish Prime Minister Donald Tusk gave a speech in Warsaw describing the war in Ukraine as “our war” and warning of the generational consequences if Russia is victorious, Orbán — the most Kremlin-friendly leader in the EU — couldn’t resist going on the attack, accusing Tusk of “playing a dangerous game.”
“Dear Donald Tusk, you may think that you are at war with Russia, but Hungary is not. Neither is the European Union … This is very bad!” he wrote on social media, seemingly channeling his friend, U.S. President Donald Trump.
Tusk responded with a reminder that it is “Russia who started the war against Ukraine. It is them who decided we’re living in the time of war,” and questioning “whose side are you on.”