QUESTION: Can I go to Hungary?
MS. HARF: Yes.
QUESTION: I know we don’t talk about Hungary very often, but apparently, the U.S. has issued entry bans on several Hungarian Government officials.
MS. HARF: We have.
QUESTION: We reported this over the weekend. And it comes, I believe, just as the foreign minister, whose name I’m afraid I can’t really pronounce – Szijjarto – is due to travel to Washington on Tuesday. He’s going to be having several high-level talks. And I just wondered if you could confirm (a) who he’s meeting, and (b) why these entry bans were put into force, if they were put into force, and against whom.
MS. HARF: They were. This was – I think happened last week. It happened a few days ago. We have applied Presidential Proclamation 7750 to certain current and former Hungarian officials. It provides authority to deny visas to current or former government officials who have engaged in public official corruption. We don’t comment on the specifics on who are on these, as you remember, probably, from visa bans in other places as well.
QUESTION: So we could assume that this doesn’t apply to the foreign minister, since he’s --
MS. HARF: I think that’s a fair --
QUESTION: Okay.
QUESTION: So basically, you’re denying them because they are accused of corruption?
MS. HARF: Corruption, correct. And look, Hungary is a close friend, ally. We have an ongoing dialogue with its government about democratic principles addressing corruption, so I’m sure that will be a topic of conversation on --
QUESTION: Have they protested the visa ban?
MS. HARF: I do not know. Let me check. And I don’t know who’s meeting.
QUESTION: You don’t know. Could you find out who he’s meeting?
MS. HARF: I can, yes.
QUESTION: I would assume that perhaps he’s going to meet with Victoria Nuland, but --
MS. HARF: I would guess, but I will check.
QUESTION: Or the Secretary?
QUESTION: -- who apparently has been highly critical of Hungary and the corruption level, so --
MS. HARF: Well, it’s certainly something we’re very concerned about.
QUESTION: So if you could give to us who he’s meeting with, that’d be --
MS. HARF: Yes, yes. Thank you. What else? James --
QUESTION: Another --
MS. HARF: -- and then I am going to go around the room.
