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.<\/p>\n
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.<\/p>\n
“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.<\/p>\n
During Hungary’s bitterly fought election campaign a string of leaks emerged highlighting the extremely cosy links between top officials in Budapest and Moscow.<\/p>\n
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.<\/p>\n
The leaks sparked outrage among Hungary’s EU counterparts.<\/p>\n
EU officials hope Orban’s looming exit will ease decision making in the bloc after years of blockages.<\/p>\n
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. <\/p>\n
Some EU leaders, however, have cautioned against getting too carried away — and warned others could fill Orban’s shoes.<\/p>\n
“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.<\/p>\n
“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.”<\/p>\n
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