"Peace is the solution to all the problems and to all the serious challenges facing us,” Szijjártó warned at the UN General Assembly.Continue reading
Hungarian Foreign Minister Péter Szijjártó spoke to the international and Hungarian press about the war in Ukraine and the EU sanctions policy.
“The European economy is heading towards a recession, the likes of which have not been seen for a long time, secure energy supplies are a thing of the past in Europe, inflation is sky-high, fuel and food prices are also rising, and utility prices have also soared. So a solution is definitely needed, because the people of Europe are not responsible for this war, so we cannot make them pay the price of this war,” Minister of Foreign Affairs and Trade Péter Szijjártó told CNN while in New York for the UN General Assembly’s session.
He said it was unfortunate that the EU sanctions policy had failed, as it was causing more damage to the continent than to the country being sanctioned.
“We Hungarians have condemned this war from the very beginning and have not vetoed any sanctions package so far. However, we have made it clear that we will in no way put the country’s secure energy supply at risk,” he noted.
Instead of sanctions, he said, Europe should have made much greater efforts for peace. “The Hungarian government has been calling for an immediate ceasefire and the start of peace talks since the beginning of the war,” he added.
The Minister told Hungarian public Kossuth Radio that the EU sanctions are damaging Europe, have not brought Russia to its knees and have not brought us closer to peace. “We will not give our consent to any decision that would harm the Hungarian national interest,” he confirmed.
Speaking to Russian state news agency TASS, Szijjártó confirmed that Hungary has no plans to deny Schengen visas, including multiple-entry visas, to Russian nationals. “Visa policy is a Schengen policy, so as a Schengen member state you have the procedures how you have to do it. No decision has been made that we should stop issuing Schengen visas to Russian citizens,” he said. “I respect others who say that they will not issue visas for Russian citizens, but it is not my job to discuss. We have not made such a decision. Why should we have?”, he added.
The European Commission announced last week that it intends to discuss the issuance of humanitarian visas to Russians fleeing partial mobilization, but concrete decisions are mostly at the hand of the member states. Estonia, Lithuania, Latvia, Poland and the Czech Republic that they do not support the idea. The Baltic countries and Poland drastically restricted entrance for Russians citizens.
To a question by The American Conservative regarding an “ideal endgame” in the Ukraine war, Szijjártó said that “the ideal endgame is peace.” “We are close to the conflict. We are in the neighborhood, Ukraine is our neighbor. The impacts of the war are immediate and serious—more serious than they are for more far-flung countries,” he reminded. “From the very first day, we have been demanding a ceasefire and peace talks. And we have offered Hungary as a meeting ground for negotiations. If the Ukrainians and the Russians want to come, they are welcome. We will provide all the necessary circumstances for them to come and discuss a solution,” the Minister said.
Featured photo via Facebook/Szijjártó Péter