Polish Prime Minister Donald Tusk quipped Friday at an EU summit that there were finally “no Russians in the room”, as Hungary’s Kremlin-friendly premier Viktor Orban skipped the meeting after his crushing election loss.
Orban — who is set to leave office next month after 16 years in power — has been accused by critics of acting as a Trojan horse for the Kremlin at the EU’s top table as he disrupted support for Ukraine.
“For the first time in years there were no Russians in the room, if you know what I mean,” Tusk told journalists as he arrived at the summit venue in Cyprus.
During Hungary’s bitterly fought election campaign a string of leaks emerged highlighting the extremely cosy links between top officials in Budapest and Moscow.
That included a phone call in which Hungarian foreign minister Peter Szijjarto briefed his Russian counterpart Sergei Lavrov on EU summit discussions and offered to share confidential documents.
The leaks sparked outrage among Hungary’s EU counterparts.
EU officials hope Orban’s looming exit will ease decision making in the bloc after years of blockages.
In the wake of his election loss, the EU has already scored a breakthrough on Ukraine as Budapest dropped its veto on a massive loan for Kyiv.
Some EU leaders, however, have cautioned against getting too carried away — and warned others could fill Orban’s shoes.
“There is a little bit too much euphoria about the fact that Viktor is no longer there. In my experience, I’ve been here for a year and a half, he was, of course, often a difficult partner, but never an impossible partner,” said Belgian Prime Minister Bart De Wever.
“We’ll find out in the next few months, but I do think that maybe some things towards Ukraine will become possible that have been very difficult up till now.”
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