Ukraine’s Sybiha outlines coffee tactic to stall Orbán at the UN
The foreign minister said Kyiv will use the same method that bypassed a Hungarian veto in the EU to manage the former prime minister if he becomes secretary-general.
By Julia Morgan ·
Andrii Sybiha says Ukraine has a specific plan for Viktor Orbán if the former Hungarian prime minister takes the top job at the United Nations.
Sybiha posted on X that he expects Orbán to apply the veto and blackmail skills he used to derail European Union decisions for years. The Ukrainian foreign minister referred to a late 2023 EU summit where Orbán left the room to allow leaders to approve Ukraine’s accession talks without a Budapest block.
He wrote that Kyiv can share its experience of taking Orbán out for coffee at the right moment. This joke references the physical removal of the Hungarian leader that enabled the vote. Sybiha described this as a useful tool for managing the former prime minister’s influence at the UN.
The Wall Street Journal reported that the US administration is promoting Orbán for the secretary-general post. Washington is counting on support from China and Russia for the move. In May, investigative journalists found that MAGA Republicans considered a UN appointment to shield Orbán from prosecution in Hungary.
Hungarian journalist Szabolcs Panyi said Orbán is preparing to move to the US if legal action begins in Hungary. Sybiha’s comments respond directly to these reports about the US push for the candidacy. The Ukrainian minister framed the coffee break as a proven diplomatic strategy.
Source: Ukrainska Pravda
