Hungary summons Swedish envoy over criticism of PM Orban’s visit to Georgia

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BUDAPEST (Reuters) – Hungary summoned the Swedish ambassador over comments by Swedish Prime Minister Ulf Kristersson regarding Hungarian Prime Minister Viktor Orban’s visit to Georgia earlier this week, the foreign ministry in Budapest said on Wednesday.

Orban’s visit immediately after a hotly contested parliamentary election in Georgia has attracted criticism among some of Hungary’s partners in the European Union and NATO.

Georgian opposition parties said the weekend vote won by the ruling party was rigged, and state prosecutors said on Wednesday they had launched an investigation into the allegations.

Orban said in Tbilisi on Tuesday that Georgia’s election was free and democratic.

Reacting to Orban’s comment, Kristersson told Swedish news agency TT that the Hungarian leader did not speak for Sweden or other European countries but “possibly speaks for Russia”.

A Swedish foreign ministry spokesperson confirmed that the ambassador had been summoned to Hungary’s foreign ministry and that a meeting had taken place.

“We have ongoing contacts with Hungary within the framework of our bilateral relations. The bilateral dialogue is an important and natural part of the relationship,” she said, without elaborating further.