Hungary expels 10 Russian mission staff

Hungary is expelling 10 members of the Russian diplomatic mission over what Budapest called activities that are unacceptable for diplomats under the Vienna Convention, Hungarian Foreign Minister Anita Orban said Tuesday.

Orban said the government of pro-EU conservative Prime Minister Peter Magyar made the move to protect Hungary's “security and sovereignty” and had called on the individuals to leave the country. She did not give details of what they had allegedly done.

She said the action “does not imply breaking off diplomatic relations with Russia” and that Hungary intended to continue necessary dialogue “based on mutual respect and adherence to the rules.”

Moscow vowed to retaliate. Russian foreign ministry spokeswoman Maria Zakharova told the TASS state news agency that the response to what she called the “Russophobic lobby in Budapest” would be “harsh and painful.”

Magyar took office in May after Viktor Orban, Hungary's nationalist former prime minister, lost April elections after 16 years in power. Viktor Orban had maintained close ties with Russia and President Vladimir Putin.

Since taking office, Magyar has sought to repair ties with the European Union and Kyiv that were tense under his predecessor. Hungary had not joined other European countries in expelling Russian diplomats in large numbers after Russia's full-scale invasion of Ukraine in 2022.