Hungary demonstrates loyalty to the Lukashenko regime even during the period of its international isolation. According to The Ukrainian Review, in 2023, Belarus’ exports to Hungary reached more than $114 million. This is one of the highest figures in the last decade.
Hungary, which currently holds the EU presidency, has never hidden its loyalty to the dictatorial regimes of Putin and Lukashenko. Thus, after the falsification of the presidential election results, political repression of the opposition, and the crackdown on peaceful protesters, Belarus found itself in international isolation. The only EU member to send an ambassador to the country was Hungary.
At the end of May, during Foreign Minister Péter Szijjártó’s visit to Minsk, the parties signed a memorandum on deepening economic cooperation in the fields of energy, agriculture, industry, healthcare, and more. In particular, there were already significant Hungarian exports in agriculture and the food industry, which were not affected by the sanctions, and after the war, trade only gained momentum amid the isolation of the Lukashenko regime. The two sides also exchanged transportation permits to simplify supply logistics.
Experts emphasize that such cooperation weakens the effectiveness of EU sanctions.
It’s not just the Putin and Lukashenko regimes that cooperate, there are loyal businesses in fully democratic countries that make money on this, – says Franak Viacorka, chief advisor to the duly elected President of Belarus, Svetlana Tikhanovskaya.
Hungary, which currently holds the EU presidency, not only facilitates trade, but also plays the role of an intermediary for the legalization of Belarusian goods on the European market.
