Hungarian Prime Minister Viktor Orban and Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan, considered allies to Russian President Vladimir Putin, have recently taken steps to alienate Moscow over its invasion of Ukraine, reported Newsweek.
Erdogan on Thursday stopped permitting the transit of goods bound for Russia through Turkish territory to comply with Western sanctions.
Meanwhile, Orban this week announced that Hungary will reassess its relationship with Russia due to geopolitical realities.
"I understand the need to restore Russian-European relations after the war, but this is far from realistic," Orban said at an economic forum in Budapest on Thursday.
He added: "That's why Hungary's foreign and economic policy should seriously think about what kind of relations we can establish and maintain with the Russian Federation in the next 10-15 years."
His stance was different last month when he vowed to maintain relations with Moscow.
"We will keep our economic relations with Russia, and this is what we propose to our allies as well," Orban said during an annual state of the nation address in Budapest.
"The Hungarian government does not consider the suggestion that Russia is a threat to the security of Hungary or Europe to be realistic," he added.
Hungary is heavily dependent on Russia for meeting its energy requirements.
The report comes as Hungary and Turkey have deadlocked NATO's hopes to include European allies Sweden and Finland in its military alliance.
The Nordic countries pushed their membership application after Russia launched his invasion of Ukraine in 2022.
Paul Levin, the director of Stockholm University Institute for Turkish Studies, recently said Putin is "the person who stands to gain most from Ankara's veto on NATO enlargement."
"Turkey has advertised another military incursion into Kurdish-led areas in northern Syria, but since the areas in question are patrolled by Russian or Russian-allied Syrian troops, this de facto requires Russian approval," he said.
"Russia also provides Turkey with energy and is building a nuclear reactor in Akkuyu, for which it recently provided Turkey with much-needed new financing; and the two countries are in discussion over a possible deferral of Turkish loan payments.
"Erdogan has been pursuing an increasingly transactional foreign policy in recent years; and by halting NATO enlargement he is giving Putin what he wants, by design or coincidence."
Solange Reyner ✉
Solange Reyner is a writer and editor for Newsmax. She has more than 15 years in the journalism industry reporting and covering news, sports and politics.
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