Cornstein: Adding Rogán to sanctions list is ‘terrible and shameful’

David Cornstein said the “move by outgoing ambassador David Pressman” was an example of the current US administration’s hostile stance towards Hungary, “right down to the last hour”.

David Cornstein, a former US ambassador to Hungary, told public media on Wednesday that the US decision to include Antal Rogán, the minister leading the Hungarian Cabinet Office, on a sanctions list is “terrible and shameful”.

Cornstein said the “move by outgoing ambassador David Pressman” was an example of the current US administration’s hostile stance towards Hungary, “right down to the last hour”.

While the Biden and Obama administrations had harmed Hungary and the US’s interests by “a hostile approach to Hungary”, the first Trump administration had fostered excellent ties with the country thanks to shared views on governance, immigration and defence priorities, Cornstein said, pointing as an example to the defence cooperation agreement signed by the two counries.

He said he expected cooperation to “flourish” during Trump’s second term, and lamented the “lost opportunities of cooperation” under Biden’s tenure.