NATO's security does not depend on how strong Ukraine is, but on how strong we are, Péter Szijjártó stressed.Continue reading
Hungary has presented Ukraine with an action plan proposing the development of cross-border economic cooperation and the creation of special economic zones, Minister of Foreign Affairs and Trade Péter Szijjártó said in Washington on Wednesday.
Commenting on the NATO summit, the minister said that he had held talks with his Ukrainian counterpart, Dmytro Kuleba, for about an hour on Tuesday, during which he had also handed over an action plan. He pointed out that the action plan proposed the development of cross-border economic cooperation and the creation of special investment and economic zones on both sides of the border. “I have proposed the construction of new border crossings, the renovation of the Tisza bridge and new rail links, as well as closer cooperation in the field of energy, because it is obvious that if two neighboring countries cooperate, energy security can be mutually improved,” he said. “I have also proposed to enhance cooperation in education and human resources.
Thus, we hope that this new action plan, putting our relations in a different development framework, will be able to come into being,”
he added. The politician noted that his Ukrainian counterpart will study the Hungarian action plan and will send back his proposals.
In the light of the previous day’s talks, Mr Szijjártó also said that the Kiev government had appreciated the Hungarian-Ukrainian summit held the previous week. “It is clear that the positions on the war between the warring parties are very far apart. It is also clear that we have different views on the possibility of a ceasefire and peace talks,” he said.
Therefore, there is still a lot of work to be done here to really get to peace, but we have to work on it, because what we have been saying for weeks is unfortunately being proven day by day, because it looks like a very serious risk of escalation,” he continued.
“The war is getting more brutal on the front line, obviously as a consequence of the fact that there are more and more weapons on both sides of the front line. If those weapons are there, they are being used against each other, and we see the brutal consequences, like the attack on the children’s hospital, it breaks your heart,” the Hungarian politician said. He also warned of the grave danger of escalation, stressing that this and further brutality could be avoided by ending the war as soon as possible.
The sooner there is a ceasefire, the fewer deaths; the sooner there is a ceasefire, the less brutality can happen on the front line,”
he stressed.
The minister also noted that he and his Ukrainian counterpart had agreed that the opening of negotiations on Ukraine’s accession to the European Union would open a new chapter in the cooperation between the two countries, as Kiev had undertaken to restore the rights of the Hungarian national community that had been taken away from it. “From now on, this is no longer formally a bilateral issue, but a European one, because the framework decision on Ukraine’s accession negotiations taken by the European Union includes this clause,” he underlined. “From now on, we in Brussels will have to constantly call this to account, and pay attention to it, so that the rights of the national community are restored.
This, in turn, will give us the opportunity to conclude a new agreement on the development of cooperation between the two countries within a bilateral framework at a level that is good for Ukraine and good for Hungarians,”
Péter Szijjártó concluded.
Via MTI, Featured image: Facebook/Szijjártó Péter