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| - Hungary's foreign minister was accused of lying Tuesday after he was spotted on a yacht in Croatia while posting social media pictures appearing to show him hard at work in an office. According to the investigative journalism news site Atlatszo.hu, Peter Szijjarto was photographed on Sunday aboard a luxury yacht in Croatia owned by a leading businessman. In Facebook messages Thursday and Sunday however Szijjarto, alongside images of himself in office settings, said he had been busy telephoning EU counterparts to discuss the crisis in Belarus. Opposition parties accused the minister of lying and called for his resignation. "Szijjarto lied that he was working in an office while he was holidaying on a billionaire's luxury yacht," the Socialist party said in a statement. The images raised questions about Szijjarto's links to the yacht owner, Laszlo Szijj, a construction magnate who has been listed as Hungary's fourth richest businessman and has won many state tenders in recent years. The party said Szijjarto's actions may also have posed national security risks. "In a functioning democracy this is grounds for resignation," said Katalin Cseh, an MEP with another opposition party, Momentum. Prime Minister Viktor Orban, who has been criticised for not commenting so far on events in Belarus, has also encouraged Hungarians to spend summer holidays at home to lower the risk of coronavirus infection. Neighbouring Austria has warned its citizens not to travel to Croatia after a spike in infection cases there this month. A foreign ministry official said in a Facebook message: "Yes, the minister is on holiday, and working at the same time". "Even his opponents acknowledge the minister's work tempo, working while on holiday," said Tamas Menczer, adding that the photographs were an "invasion of privacy". pmu/gd
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