Péter Szijjártó: I have asked the Russians to stop this war because it is bad for us

According to the Hungarian Minister of Foreign Affairs and Trade, Péter Szijjártó, the Hungarian government is doing everything in its power to protect the Hungarians in Transcarpathia from the consequences of the Russian-Ukrainian war. Speaking on InfoRádió on Monday, Szijjártó also said that he can envision a strategic partnership between the European Union and Ukraine, but he cannot see Ukraine becoming a member of the EU.

"We made it clear at the very beginning of the war that we condemn this war. We made it clear that we consider this war, like every other war, unacceptable. I have said so publicly in Russia too, and I have asked the Russians to stop this war because it is bad for us. I have publicly represented this position, and I continue to do so in Brussels, Moscow, and everywhere else," said Szijjártó, adding that “diplomacy has visible, public tools, as well as less visible ones, which are used behind closed doors.”

According to the Hungarian Foreign Minister, it is due to political correctness that speaking openly about the fact that Ukraine is currently being divided up is not possible. "Practically nobody is talking about Crimea anymore, nobody is questioning where it belongs, the subject has been removed from the international political agenda. Many also portray it as a fait accompli that Russia has occupied certain areas of Donbas, occupied various counties, which have by now been included in the Russian constitution, while at the same time they are talking about sending international troops to certain areas of Ukraine. What is this discussion about, if not about the zones that will be created in Ukraine?" he said.

During the conversation, it was also mentioned that Szijjártó attended the Victory Day celebrations in China last week. The minister emphasized that there were a total of four NATO member countries represented in Beijing other than him, including the Prime Minister of Slovakia, the Deputy Prime Minister of Bulgaria, and the Turkish Foreign Minister.

He said he had held talks with the heads of several large Chinese companies on how they could increase their investments in Hungary. According to Szijjártó, it is definitely in Hungary's interest that Sino-US relations move in the right direction. "The good news is that there is now a kind of temporary agreement in place, which regulates economic cooperation between the two countries," he added.

Szijjártó called it a major economic success that Europe's biggest car and battery factories are being built in Hungary. "Of course, the opposition is saying that we're just an assembly plant. This is a demeaning view of the Hungarian workforce, it is disparaging to the Hungarian people, and it is also a huge lie, because Audi, BMW, Mercedes, CATL, BYD, and many others represent the best and most modern technology in the world. There is no more modern technology in the world of car manufacturing than what we have here in Hungary," he said.

Szijjártó also spoke about Hungary's energy supplies and stressed the importance of maintaining relations with Russia:

"This is not a political question. It is not a matter of political preference. It is not an ideological question. It is a physical one. A physical and a realistic one. Let's not try to frame this as if where we buy our crude oil and natural gas were a political decision. It is not. It is a very serious, very simple, very solid physical issue. We buy crude oil and natural gas from wherever we can, because that is where there are resources and pipelines."

According to the Foreign Minister, those who are most vocal in condemning Hungary for buying oil and natural gas from Russia are actually doing the same thing, only secretly, through Asian intermediary countries.