Morawiecki: all hurtful comments by Budapest should be condemned

At a press conference held on Wednesday in Wola Karczewska, Prime Minister Mateusz Morawiecki said that "all wrong, improper, hurtful, and harmful words coming from the Hungarian capital should be condemned". "The Hungarian government should clearly condemn what has been happening in Ukraine. This is a choice between the truth and falsehood, and we certainly stand in truth," he added.

Earlier at the conference, Morawiecki was asked why he was the only leader attacking other EU countries and why, especially in times when Europe should be united and speak in one voice.

"I'm not attacking other countries, but rather prompting them to reflect," the PM replied.

"It was only after Poland and the Baltics - because I went to Berlin together with Lithuanian president - stirred the conscience of many countries, of many heads of state, that they began to think," he said.

Morawiecki argued that "the further west, the more they would like to close their eyes and preferably not to even think about it". He added that was why he was trying to "stir the conscience of colleagues in the European Council".

Referring to Hungary, Morawiecki assured that "he will not spare energy and means to stir the conscience of all people".

At a news conference in Budapest on Wednesday, Hungary's Prime Minister Viktor Orban commented on the war in Ukraine.

"The situation is clear. This is a war that the Russians started, they attacked Ukraine, and it's aggression, this is the joint stance of the European Union and Hungary shares that stance," he said.

"About all the atrocities, I think that all of them must be investigated, no matter the fact that we live in a mass-manipulation era when one does not know exactly whether he can believe his eyes. But in any case, civilians must be protected, the abuse of civilians must be condemned firmly, and such cases must be investigated," he stressed.

Poland, a long-term ally of Hungary in its clashes with the EU over what critics say is a systemic erosion of democratic rights, has criticised Budapest for its cautious positioning on the Ukraine war. The Czech Republic has done the same.

Orban also said on Wednesday that his aim was to strengthen the alliance with Poland. The two countries have supported each other for years in their battles with Brussels over the rule of law and access to EU funds. "The most important is that our alliance with Poland must be solidified as we cannot remain standing alone in this storm," Orban said, describing the links with Poland as a "mutual defence alliance". The European Union executive started a new disciplinary procedure against Hungary on Tuesday in a step that could lead to freezing funding for Budapest for undercutting liberal democratic rights. Orban also said the expansion of the Paks nuclear plant, which Hungary gave to Russian state firm Rostatom in a 2014 deal signed without a public tender, was on track. The project has been seriously delayed.