BUDAPEST: The Hun­ga­rian government on Tuesday rejected US President Joe Biden’s accusation that Prime Minister Viktor Orban was “looking for dictatorship”, summoning the US ambassador over the claim.

Relations between the two Nato allied countries have been frosty over the past years, as the United States has frequently criticised Hungary for its close relations with Russia, for holding up Sweden’s Nato bid and over democratic backsliding.

Biden claimed on Friday that Orban “stated flatly he doesn’t think democracy works and is looking for dictatorship”. He spoke at a campaign event as US president and republican frontrunner Donald Trump hosted the Hungarian nationalist leader at his Mar-a-Lago residence. Hungary summoned the US ambassador over the comment.

“We are not obliged to tolerate such lies from anyone, even if that person happens to be the president of the United States of America,” Hungary’s Foreign Minister Peter Szijjarto told a press conference.

Published in Dawn, March 13th, 2024