Dialogue is needed more than anything else, and for this it is not only necessary to answer the questions of the Western media, the Minister of Foreign Affairs and Trade wrote on his social media page on Saturday, sharing an interview in Moscow.
Péter Szijjártó emphasized in the interview given to the Russian news channel Izvesztyija: the Hungarian model has very clearly demonstrated that membership of the European Union and NATO does not have to exclude good relations with Russia, and expressed the hope that several countries will support this example. . He believed that there was no need for Hungarian mediation in the situation, because Russian President Vladimir Putin held talks twice in the past few days with American President Joe Biden and French President Emmanuel Macron. In addition, according to his information, Russian Foreign Minister Sergey Lavrov Antony Blinken , and British Prime Minister Boris Johnson
Péter Szijjártó called the dialogue that unfolded the best possible news. Central Europeans do not care at all, in fact, it is a priority national security interest to have a pragmatic and civilized relationship between East and West, said the Minister of Foreign Affairs and Trade. He said: they understood the Russian proposal that NATO should not expand in the eastern direction. Péter Szijjártó expressed his hope that the problems can be solved, because "if relations are based on mutual respect, then there are no obstacles."
Regarding the news that the United Kingdom and the United States are sending a thousand soldiers to Central Europe, mainly to Romania, Bulgaria and Hungary, Péter Szijjártó said: he does not know what the situation is in the other states, but this is not true for Hungary . There are NATO soldiers in Hungary, the Hungarian Armed Forces, which is a NATO unit. The Hungarian Armed Forces are in a suitable condition to defend the country, so there is no need for external troops, he added.
The Minister of Foreign Affairs and Trade called the situation of the Hungarian minority living in Ukraine a difficult problem. About 150,000 Hungarians live as a minority in the western part of Ukraine. They are not migrants, but an indigenous community that has been living there for centuries, he emphasized. He called it regrettable that since 2016, the rights of the Hungarian community have been continuously violated , and the use of the mother tongue is increasingly suppressed in education, public offices, the media and culture. From time to time, new initiatives on the further restriction of rights are put on the agenda of the Ukrainian parliament. This is unacceptable for Hungary. He emphasized: By insisting on the rights of its national minority, Hungary does not serve the interests of Russia, but only the interests of the national community, which must regain the rights that were taken from it. Although he does not see positive processes, he expressed his hope that sooner or later the dialogue will bear fruit and the situation will change.
Source: MTI/Facebook
(Cover image source: Facebook)