Hungary summoned the top U.S. diplomat on December 3 to protest comments by U.S. Senator John McCain branding Prime Minister Viktor Orban a "neofascist dictator."
During Senate hearings for new ambassadors in Washington on December 2, McCain described Hungary as "a nation that is on the verge of ceding its sovereignty to a neo-fascist dictator getting in bed with [Russian President] Vladimir Putin."
On December 3, State Secretary for Foreign Affairs Levente Magyar told U.S. Charge d'Affaires Andre Goodfriend that Hungary considers the comments "unacceptable."
The senator's comments came after a confirmation hearing for Colleen Bell, a television soap-opera producer.
McCain told the Senate that Hungary is a "very important country where bad things are going on. And we're going to send the producer of 'The Bold And The Beautiful' as the ambassador."
Bell was narrowly approved in a Senate vote.