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Former chair of the UK\u2019s Defence Select Committee Tobias Ellwood has issued a stark warning to Viktor Orb\u00e1n after the Hungarian Prime Minister appeared alongside Vladimir Putin at China\u2019s Belt and Road Forum in Beijing on Tuesday.<\/p>\n
The Conservative MP, who is one of Westminster\u2019s foremost foreign policy voices, told Express.co.uk that Hungary\u2019s membership of NATO and the European Union should be \u201cquestioned\u201d if Orb\u00e1n continues to court the Russian and Chinese leadership.<\/p>\n
He accused the Oxford-educated Hungarian leader of deciding \u201cmore openly to show his cards\u201d by appearing alongside Putin at the Chinese Communist Party-run event.<\/p>\n
In a major coup for the Kremlin, 60-year-old Orb\u00e1n was not only pictured shaking hands with Putin but also told him during a meeting on the sidelines of the Belt and Road Forum, that Hungary \u201cnever wanted to confront Russia\u201d and that his Government\u2019s intention \u201chas always been to establish and expand mutually the best contacts\u201d.<\/p>\n
In a further blow for the western security alliance, the Hungarian prime minister added that he sought closer economic ties with Moscow: \u201cWe are interested in supporting this co-operation not only at the level of communication but also at the economic level.\u201d<\/p>\n
READ MORE: <\/strong> Putin embarrassed as European leaders storm out of event before Chinese speech<\/strong><\/p>\n Following Orb\u00e1n\u2019s eye-catching comments in China, Mr Ellwood told this website: \u201cThe bedrock of European security over the last few decades has been the existence and commitment to NATO.<\/p>\n \u201cAnd if leaders such as Orb\u00e1n do not buy into European security and indeed European prosperity, through its membership of the EU, then it’s absolutely right that Hungary\u2019s memberships should be questioned on both cases.\u201d<\/p>\n Asked whether Hungary was emerging as a \u201cchink in the armour\u201d of NATO and the European Union, the MP for Bournemouth East said \u201ccompletely\u201d.<\/p>\n He continued: \u201cPutin only needs to lure one European leader to his way of thinking to severely limit the collective impact of these two very powerful organisations [NATO and the EU.\u201d<\/p>\n Don’t miss… <\/strong> We use your sign-up to provide content in ways you’ve consented to and to improve our understanding of you. This may include adverts from us and 3rd parties based on our understanding. You can unsubscribe at any time. More info<\/p>\n Orb\u00e1n recently said, during the autumn opening of his country\u2019s parliament, that Hungary was in \u201cno rush\u201d to ratify Sweden\u2019s membership of NATO. It remains the only member of the alliance, besides Turkey, not to ratify the Nordic state\u2019s membership.<\/p>\n Mr Ellwood, who served in Northern Ireland and Bosnia, reaching the rank of captain in the British Army, went further, attaching blame to the Hungarian leader for NATO\u2019s restricted involvement in the Ukraine conflict.<\/p>\n He said: \u201cThere\u2019s no doubt, had Orb\u00e1n not been so minded to support Putin that NATO itself could have taken a far more proactive role in putting the fire out in Ukraine.\u201d<\/p>\n Hungary is one of three EU member states that defied an end to the Brussels ban on Ukrainian grain imports. Orb\u00e1n said on social media after Budapest\u2019s decision to continue to impose the grain ban: “The bureaucrats in Brussels are turning a blind eye to the problems of European farmers once again.<\/p>\n \u201cIt\u2019s time to take matters into our own hands! Ukrainian agricultural products destined for Africa are flooding Central European markets.\u201d<\/p>\n Hungary\u2019s casual European solidarity is reflective of the distance between the perspectives of western leaders and Orb\u00e1n, according to the Mr Ellwood.<\/p>\n He explained: \u201cOrb\u00e1n is not on the same page as the rest of Europe and is actually deliberately thwarting efforts to promote European security and by extension is then playing into the hands of both Russia and China and indeed Iran as well.\u201d<\/p>\n![](\"https:\/\/cdn.images.express.co.uk\/img\/dynamic\/78\/590x\/secondary\/5019488.jpg?r=1697640298880\")
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