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Hungary’s foreign policy is always guided by national interests, even if the government is immediately labeled fascist or a friend of the Russian President because its positions differ from the liberal mainstream, Foreign Minister Péter Szijjártó stated on Tuesday in Yerevan, Armenia.
Speaking at a panel discussion at the Yerevan Dialogue forum, the Minister lamented that mutual respect has completely disappeared from international politics and that the intellectual level of debate is extremely low. “And I regret to say that the European Union is leading the way in this negative sense. In recent years, it has been very difficult to engage in rational dialogue on the European political scene, and with the outbreak of war in Ukraine, this has become virtually impossible,” he said.
As an example, he mentioned that the issue of energy supply has become completely politicized, and it is still not possible to heat homes with political statements or press conferences. He also emphasized that the entire international political scene would benefit greatly if the world’s nations were able to tone down this attitude a little.
“With the victory of President Donald Trump in the United States, the situation immediately improved a lot, because those who had been marginalized are now part of the mainstream, and those who had been pushed into the background are now in the majority.
And I believe that patriotism and a sovereign approach, which were previously neglected, are now becoming mainstream.
So there are major changes taking place in international politics in this regard,” he underlined.
Regarding Ukraine’s possible future accession to the EU, Péter Szijjártó emphasized that Member States say one thing publicly about enlargement and another behind closed doors, where they mostly list the obstacles to the accession of Western Balkan countries. “Take Montenegro, for example, a country that poses no threat to the European Union in terms of size or population, a country that is already a member of the eurozone and NATO.
Why cannot Montenegro or Serbia become members of the European Union? Why do not we accept North Macedonia?”
he asked. Mr. Szijjártó went on to explain that while the countries of the Western Balkans have been waiting an average of fifteen years for EU membership, under the current circumstances he cannot imagine Ukraine meeting the necessary criteria within the foreseeable future. He noted that in the case of Ukraine, too, the “merit-based process” so often mentioned in Europe must be followed, and that being at war is not a merit, at least not in this respect.
The Western Balkans have been stuck in the EU’s waiting room for 15+ years…What are we waiting for? pic.twitter.com/OC8bR9PzO9
— Péter Szijjártó (@FM_Szijjarto) May 27, 2025
“So when it comes to EU membership, there is a very, very clear list of criteria. I do not see them getting any closer to meeting them,” he said. “However, there is an opinion poll underway in Hungary, in which people can decide very clearly whether they support Ukraine’s EU membership or not. And since we are a democratic government, we will follow the will of the people,” he added. “We are not afraid to ask the people for their opinion on strategic issues. We have held national consultations on many issues (…) And we have always respected the will of the people,” he underlined.
Via MTI, Featured photo via MTI/Illyés Tibor
