The Polish Foreign Ministry has clarified its previous response sent to Telex about the recalling of its Budapest ambassador, stating that Ambassador Sebastian Kęciek's term would have expired regardless and that his assignment was not terminated because Hungary granted political asylum to former deputy minister Marcin Romanowski, who is wanted in Poland for criminal offences.
"This decision was part of the Polish Foreign Ministry's rules on the rotation of diplomatic staff, which includes the heads of the missions, and cannot be interpreted as a political signal – i.e. as a permanent downgrading of diplomatic relations between the two countries," the Polish Foreign Ministry wrote to Telex.
At the same time, they said that when Kęciek had previously been recalled to Warsaw for consultations, it was because the Hungarian authorities had granted asylum to former deputy minister Marcin Romanowski. According to the Polish Foreign Ministry, the granting of asylum was "part of the unfounded and offensive criticism" that representatives of the Hungarian government had been directing against the Polish authorities and Polish foreign policy for months.
The Polish Ministry of Foreign Affairs stated that "we consider this type of behavior completely unjustified and reprehensible," adding that they see it as a deliberate attempt to stir up tensions with Poland. "By doing this, the government of Viktor Orbán is destroying the traditionally good and close relationship between our countries, thereby undermining the long-term interests of the Hungarian people," the Polish Ministry of Foreign Affairs said.
"It is unfortunate that in recent months we have not seen any change in the position of the Hungarian authorities that would make it possible for Ambassador Kęciek to return to Budapest," the Polish Foreign Ministry wrote.
Szijjártó responds
Minister of Foreign Affairs and Trade Péter Szijjártó said on Thursday that the Hungarian government is interested in maintaining good relations between Hungary and Poland despite political differences, but noted that the current leadership in Warsaw does not seem to be interested in this, the Hungarian state news agency, MTI reported.
Responding to a journalist's question on the matter at a press conference in Budapest, he said that he never interferes in other countries' decisions about sending or not sending ambassadors, but added that as far as he knows there have been efforts to recall the head of the diplomatic mission ever since the government change in Poland. "We are interested in a good cooperation between Hungary and Poland, but the current Polish government is clearly not interested in this," Szijjártó said.
The foreign minister further added: “The current Polish government is a pro-war government, we are a pro-peace government. We believe that cooperation could still be good regardless of this, because cooperation between the two countries is not just about what we think about war, but the Polish government is clearly unable to ignore this difference.”
We have previously reported in detail on the case of Polish politician Marcin Romanowski and the deterioration of Hungarian-Polish relations. The former Polish deputy minister, who fled to Hungary, now lives in an apartment in Budapest's first district, near the Danube, and has been hired by the Center for Fundamental Rights as the head of the Hungarian-Polish Freedom Institute. He faces several serious criminal charges in his home country. According to the Polish National Prosecutor's Office, the politician committed eleven different crimes and is, among others, accused of participating in an organized criminal group and embezzling public funds. The Hungarian government, however, believes that Romanowski would not receive a fair trial in Poland.
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