Western officials have often criticized Viktor Orban's government for backsliding on democracy, but they've tended to praise it for a steadfast commitment to NATO, whose summit Orban attended in May | Emmanuel Dunand/AFP via Getty Images

Government insists there is no such thing as a special relationship between Russia and Hungary.

By Lili Bayer

7/19/17, 4:01 AM CET

Updated 7/19/17, 8:16 PM CET

NATO allies are worried about expanding Russian intelligence operations in Hungary.

While Western officials have often criticized the government in Budapest for backsliding on democracy, theyve tended to praise it for a steadfast commitment to NATO. But officials from allied countriessay Russia increasingly sees Hungary as an operational backdoor into Europe.

There is tremendous concern that Russia is basically using Hungary as an intel forward operating base in NATO and the EU, said a former official at the U.S. Embassy in Budapest, who spoke on condition of anonymity.

Western officials say Russian intelligence agencies have boosted their presence over the past few years in Hungary, which is a member of Europes border-free Schengen zone, to launch a variety of intelligence and sabotage operations in the EU.

Back in 2014-2015 [the Russians] went from maybe 50-100 intelligence officers up to 300 plus in Hungary, said the former embassy official.

Generally we expect they are openly capturing telecoms, running HUMINT [human intelligence] sources all over Europe, planning and staging all kinds of cyber sabotage, linking up with organized crime and supporting folks in parties like [the far-right] Jobbik with fat sacks of cash and maybe even some intel-sourced dirt, this person added.

Located on NATOs eastern edge and bordering Ukraine, Hungary is considered an important component of the alliances eastern defense strategy. Allied troops are currently training in Hungary as part of NATOs 10-day Saber Guardian exercises.

Everyone thinks Hungary is compromised Western NATO employee during part ofOrbns term

With Hungarian troops deployed in Kosovo and Afghanistan and a brigade currently training in Estonia, policymakers in Budapest often make the case that regardless of Prime Minister Viktor Orbns friendliness with the Kremlin, Hungary at its core is a dedicated NATO ally.

Orbn has vowed to boost defense spending, with the goal of it reaching 2 percent of GDP by 2024. All NATO countries have committed to spend 2 percent of GDP on defense, although only five member countries currently do so a matter U.S. President Donald Trump has highlighted in an effort to get European allies to boost their contribution to the organization.

NATO policy is an exception in Hungarian politics, its been consistent, regardless of any governments ideology, said one current Hungarian official, who declined to be identified.

I have never felt like Im not taken seriously by NATO partners, he said, adding that Hungary is quite active in contributing intelligence to alliance members, especially on Ukraine and the Western Balkans.

In the alliances Brussels headquarters, some officials try to highlight the countrys positive efforts. Hungary contributes a lot to the alliance within the constraints of its limited resources, said one NATO official. The country plays a key role in strengthening NATOs defense in the eastern part of the alliance, he added.

But among some of their partners,the Hungarian government and security apparatus are regarded as untrustworthy.

Everyone thinks Hungary is compromised, said one Westerner who worked for NATO during part of the Orbn years. I was told not to share anything classified with Hungarians, even if they had the appropriate clearance, this person said.

The Hungarian government, in response to questions from POLITICO, denied that there are any concerns about Russian operations in Hungary.

There is no such thing as a special relationship between Russia and Hungary, a spokesman for the government wrote, adding that the Hungarian intelligence services fulfill of all their duties regardless of the nature or origin of any given issue.

Since coming to office in 2010, Hungarian Prime Minister Viktor Orbn has reached out to Moscow, meeting with Russian President Vladimir Putin frequently and sealing a deal for a 10 billion Russian loan for the Paks II nuclear power plant project.

In late 2016, Hungarian online news portal Index reported that a far-right paramilitary leader, who was accused of shooting a police officer, had for years been meeting with Russian intelligence personnel on Hungarian territory. Members of the GRU, Russias military intelligence, have developed relationships with several far-right Hungarian groups, according to the Index report.Some Russian diplomats, moreover,participated in airsofta sport that uses non-lethal equipment resembling guns with far-right activists while Hungarian intelligence services turned a blind eye, the report said.

Suspected Russian intelligence operations have also impacted Hungarians directly. In April, online news portal 444.hu reported that the governments national consultation website where Hungarians were asked to answer a series of questions on their personal views used a tracking code belonging to Russian firm Yandex, which forwarded Hungarians data to a server in Russia. Hungarys National Data Protection Agency, under pressure from critics who say Yandex is bound by Russian law to share information with Russian security services if asked, later announced it would investigate any potential mishandling of Hungarians personal data, which the government had originally assured users would not be shared with foreign third parties.

Some Hungarians, meanwhile, see Western critics as simply hypocritical.

Some Hungarian intelligence professionals are concerned that the Orbn government is leaving Hungary vulnerable to Russian operations.

If we just look at the past six months, we see obvious Russian activities that cannot be explained in a normal NATO or EU member state, Ferenc Katrein, a former director of counterespionage and counterterrorism operations at Hungarys civilian counterintelligence agency, told POLITICO.

He pointed to cases like the national consultation websites forwarding of Hungarians personal information to a Russian server and the recent intimidation of an opposition activist in Budapest by a Chechen who, according to some Hungarian media reports, threatened the activist with the encouragement of a Russian diplomat.

The frequent appearance of stories from Russian state media in Hungarian state-owned outletsand media close to the ruling party has also raised questions about the relationship between Budapest and Moscow.

While the official Hungarian media is constantly attacking the allies, there is no criticism of the Russians This contradiction is telling, said Katrein.

Bilateral military-to-military information-sharing with Western allies almost evaporated after Orbn was elected in 2010, said Gyz Zakaris, a retired Hungarian army colonel who has studied the challenges facing Hungarys armed forces.

Some Western officials say the Orbn government is allowing Russian activity to go unchecked for political reasons.

The Hungarians are tracking [Russian activity] and arent exactly thrilled either, but our read was that Hungarian officials dont believe they can kick them all out without provoking Russia, said the former U.S. Embassy official.

Some Hungarians, meanwhile, see Western critics as simply hypocritical.

What we think, we say, and thats unusual in international politics, said the Hungarian official, adding that many NATO members are in constant communication with the Kremlin but are simply not as open about their ties.

I dont think anyone doubts for a moment that its in Hungarys interest to be part of NATO, said Eleni Kounalakis, who served as the U.S. ambassador to Hungary between 2010 and 2013.

Orbn doesnt want Russian influence in Hungary, she said. The prime minister sees his role as navigating among surrounding powers and protecting Hungarys interests.

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