The shocking gesture is being discussed in the diplomatic departments of Croatia, Romania, Slovakia and Slovenia.
Hungarian Ambassador to NATO Istvan Balogh caused a diplomatic scandal with his Christmas gift. He presented his colleagues in Brussels with a geographical atlas illustrated with maps from the time of “Greater Hungary”, which stretched far beyond the current borders of the Hungarian state.
This was reported by the Hungarian website Telex.
Croatian Foreign Minister Gordan Grlić Radman expressed his indignation at such a gift. The Croatian politician considers Balogh's gift offensive, since it contains references to the historical Great Hungary.
“It is extremely unusual when ambassadors of other countries to NATO are handed a controversial atlas, which, although Greater Hungary is not mentioned directly, contains controversial maps and accompanying texts,” he wrote on the X. network.
The minister added that the outrageous gesture will be discussed with politicians from Romania, Slovakia and Slovenia.
As reported by the STA publication, the Slovenian Foreign Ministry has already commented on this case, emphasizing that it is important to respect and remember the officially adopted borders.
“The volume presents the history and maps of the Carpathian Basin region, which also depict territories beyond the current borders of Hungary,” the ministry said in a statement.
As reported by Romanian publication Digi24, the Romanian Foreign Ministry noted that this atlas is “provocative in nature regarding the strategic partnership relations between Romania and Hungary and NATO allies.”
“The Foreign Ministry reiterates the position that it constantly conveys to the Hungarian authorities that any statement or provocative gesture is unlikely to contribute to strengthening the partnership relations between Romania and Hungary. “Common history should remain an object of study for historians,” the Romanian Foreign Ministry said in a press release.
It is known that representatives of Hungary have been using the symbols of Greater Hungary for years, primarily its map. The borders of Greater Hungary cover part of the territory of modern Austria, Croatia, Romania, Serbia, Slovakia, Slovenia and Ukraine.
Recall that earlier, Hungarian Prime Minister Viktor Orban appeared in public wearing a scandalous scarf with a map of “Greater Hungary”.
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