Hungary will take part in all talks of the allied forces on decisions regarding a coordinated response, the Foreign Minister said.Continue reading
The war in Ukraine is “the worst-case scenario”. Hungary stands by the sovereignty of Ukraine and finds recent developments “worrisome”, Foreign Minister Péter Szijjártó said in Manama, Bahrein, on Thursday.
As a neighbouring country, Hungary sees it as a priority to protect Hungarian citizens and to “stay out of the armed conflict”, he said.
The Hungarian foreign ministry on Thursday summoned Russia’s Ambassador to Hungary to brief him on Hungary’s stance on the conflict.
Prime Minister Viktor Orbán is travelling to Brussels later on Thursday to attend a meeting of the European Council regarding the EU’s response. Talks are ongoing among NATO member states, too, and Hungary is taking part in shaping the response, Szijjártó said.
The minister again called on Hungarians in central and eastern Ukraine to contact the embassy in Kyiv and “avail themselves of the safety it can provide”.
Szijjártó insisted that certain leftist initiatives would see Hungary deploy “troops and weapons” to the conflict zone, adding that the government does not support that “extremely irresponsible” concept.
The opposition has not, however, voiced direct support for sending weapons or soldiers to Ukraine. In an interview with ATV News, Péter Márki-Zay, leader of the opposition’s United for Hungary movement, stated that in this case, NATO decisions must be followed.
Featured photo illustration via Péter Szijjártó’s Facebook page
