Hungarian foreign minister lambasts EU ‘hypocrisy’ on Georgia

The European Union “has set the world record in hypocrisy” on the matter of Georgia, but Hungary and Slovakia have vetoed proposed sanctions against certain law enforcement leaders of the country, Péter Szijjártó, the minister of foreign affairs and trade, said in Brussels on Monday.

Szijjártó told a press conference after a meeting of the Foreign Affairs Council that the EU “has Georgia in its crosshairs” because a “pro-peace, patriotic, conservative party” had won the elections, rather than liberal forces. According to a ministry statement, Szijjártó rejected the EU’s “brutal political attack”, saying that the Georgian Dream party had governed for 12 years, “during which the average income has tripled and GDP and the volume of external investments have doubled.” The ruling party in Georgia had performed well and earned the trust of voters, he said. “Nobody in Brussels has the right to question the will of the Georgian people.” The minister said the reports of police brutality at demonstrations in Tbilisi were “one-sided”, and there had been “violent elements” among the demonstrators as well.