The Prime Minister warns of intensified attacks against Hungary as he convenes the Defense Council.Continue reading
“Hungary will not abandon its pro-peace stance, nor will it give up its energy cooperation with Russia, even if the war in Ukraine drags on longer than hoped,” Foreign Minister Péter Szijjártó said on Monday in Budapest following a telephone conversation with his Russian counterpart.
Based on the statement from the Ministry of Foreign Affairs and Trade, the Minister pointed out before the meeting of the Defense Council that the brutal military actions of the past few days suggest that the war in Ukraine will last longer than hoped, and therefore the Hungarian Government must prepare for further political attacks due to its pro-peace stance.
He reported that he had spoken on the phone with his Russian counterpart, Sergey Lavrov, with whom he reviewed the war situation, the conditions that have arisen in the wake of the devastating military operations of recent days, and the prospects for peace.
“We are interested in a ceasefire and peace talks, so I thanked Sergey Lavrov for initiating the resumption of Russian-Ukrainian peace talks in Istanbul today, and I also thanked him that these peace talks took place despite the fact that, in the wake of the weekend’s military actions, many people both inside and outside Russia tried to persuade the Russian Government not to attend the talks in Istanbul today,” he said.
He then expressed his hope that some progress would be made at the talks and welcomed the fact that the U.S. and Russian foreign ministers had once again held telephone talks.
This is reassuring news for Hungary, because in Central Europe we know that as long as the Americans and Russians are in direct contact with each other, the risk of war escalating is lower,”
he said.
He also reported that he had asked his Russian counterpart to remain in direct contact with the U.S. leadership, and that there appeared to be mutual willingness to do so. “On the one hand, this still carries with it the hope of peace at some point, but in any case it reduces the risk of war escalation,” he emphasized.
Péter Szijjártó also touched on Hungarian-Russian energy cooperation and explained that Russian energy sources are crucial for Hungary, as they ensure that Hungarian families pay the lowest utility costs in Europe.
I told Sergey Lavrov that we would like to maintain this cooperation, and he assured me that this is also Russia’s goal. There is a long-term contractual framework for oil and natural gas supplies, the infrastructure is in place, and the Russians continue to fulfill their contractual obligations,”
he continued.
“If the European Commission, Brussels, cuts off Hungarian-Russian energy cooperation because it wants to support Ukraine, then it will achieve that Hungarian families will have to pay two to three times as much for utilities as they have had to pay until now, which is obviously unacceptable to us,” he emphasized.
There appears to be a sharp divide within the transatlantic community: while President Donald Trump wants peace, and we support him in this, Western Europeans – naturally in alliance with the Ukrainians – want the war to continue.
”Hungary will not give up its pro-peace stance, we will not give up our energy cooperation with Russia, and we will continue to support Donald Trump’s peace plan,” he concluded.
Via MTI; Featured photo: MTI/Balogh Zoltán
