Borrell: "Hungary has not received any mandate from the EU Council to advance relations with the Organization of Turkic States"

The European Union has distanced itself from Hungarian Prime Minister Viktor Orban after he attended a meeting of the Organization of Turkic States.

In a statement by the High Representative EU on Foreign Affairs and Security Policy, Josep Borrell said that Orban's participation in the informal summit in Shusha took place exclusively within the framework of bilateral relations between Hungary and this organization, writes “European Truth”.

Borrell recalled that Hungary began its rotating presidency of the EU Council on 1 July, which will last until 31 December. However, this does not entail responsibilities for the external representation of the EU, which is the responsibility of the President of the European Council at the level of head of state or government and the High Representative for Foreign Affairs and Security Policy at ministerial level, he noted:

“Hungary has not received any mandate from the EU Council to advance relations with the Organization of Turkic States.”

The head of diplomacy added that The EU rejects attempts by the Organization of Turkic States to legitimize the Turkish Cypriot separatist entity, the internationally unrecognized “Turkish Republic of Northern Cyprus”, as an observer in the organizationHe noted:

“This decision, which awaits ratification by the members of the organization, is regrettable and runs counter to the fact that several members of the organization have expressed strong support for the principle of territorial integrity and the UN Charter.”

The European Union has repeatedly made it clear, including at the highest political level, that recognizes only the Republic of Cyprus as a subject of international lawin accordance with the relevant UN Security Council resolutions, Borrell summed up.

The Organization of Turkic States was created in 2009 and unites Turkic-speaking states. Since 2018, Hungary has been an observer in this organization.

Let us recall that last Friday Viktor Orban arrived in Moscow as part of his “peacekeeping mission.” His visit to Russia came just days after visits to Kyiv July 2. The head of EU diplomacy, Josep Borrell, then emphasized that the visit of the Hungarian Prime Minister was taking place exclusively within the framework of bilateral relations between Hungary and Russia, and not the presidency of the EU Council.

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