Hungary: No help given Macedonia ex-leader to leave homeland

BUDAPEST, Hungary (AP) — The Hungarian government says it did not assist the fugitive former prime minister of Macedonia in leaving his homeland.

Gergely Gulyas, Prime Minister Viktor Orban's chief of staff, said Thursday that Nikola Gruevski, who fled Macedonia to avoid a two-year prison term for corruption, declared his intent to file for asylum at an unnamed Hungarian diplomatic office outside Macedonia.

Macedonia has called on Hungary to extradite Gruevski, who was prime minister from 2006-2016.

Gulyas says authorities "did not have anything to do with" Gruevski fleeing Macedonia. He also guaranteed that Gruevski can't leave Hungary.

Gulyas says that for security reasons, Gruevski was questioned at length in Budapest about his asylum request instead of at a border transit zone where most asylum-seekers wait for their requests to be evaluated.