Hungary reacted furiously to the remarks made by US President Joe Biden following Hungarian Prime Minister Viktor Orban’s meeting with Donald Trump.
During a campaign event in Philadelphia, Mr Biden hit out at the Republican frontrunner he is set to face at the November presidential elections by criticising his decision to hold a face-to-face meeting at Mar-a-Lago with Mr Orban.
The US President said: “You know who he’s meeting with today down at Mar-a-Lago? Orban of Hungary, who stated flatly he doesn’t think democracy works, he’s looking for dictatorship.”
This comment went down like a lead balloon among Hungarian officials.
The country’s foreign minister Péter Szijjártó branded Mr Biden’s words as “lies” and announced the US ambassador to Hungary, David Pressman, had been summoned on Tuesday to speak to a senior Hungarian official.
In a press conference, Mr Szijjártó said: “We asked the ambassador to show us the quote, with location and time. This is a very serious insult.”
He added: “We are not required to take such lies from anyone, even if that person is the President of the United States.”
Signalling the already strained relations between the current administration in the White House and the Hungarian government are unlikely to improve in the near future, the minister added: “This way of thinking by the president and the Democratic administration is a heavy burden on our bilateral relationship.”
The US embassy in Budapest confirmed its ambassador had been “summoned” by the Ministry of Foreign Affairs for an “urgent” meeting.
In a statement, a spokesperson for the US embassy in Hungary added: “Ambassador Pressman always welcomes the opportunity to discuss the state of Hungary’s democracy with our ally.”
This is far from being the first spat between the US and Hungary in recent months. In December, Mr Pressman criticised Mr Orban as a leader who “embraces” Russian President Vladimir Putin.
Over the years, rights groups have repeatedly expressed fears Mr Orban was working to undermine the checks and balances in his country.
His close ties with both Moscow and Beijing, made apparent last year when he decided to attend the Belt and Road Forum in China and to hold a meeting there with Putin, have also raised concerns among Western allies.
Following the meeting between Mr Trump and Mr Orban in Florida on Friday, both politicians publicly expressed admiration for each other.
