Péter Szijjártó, Minister of Foreign Affairs and Trade, said on Thursday that Hungary has a vested interest in good cooperation with Poland, despite political disagreements, adding that it seemed “the current Warsaw leadership doesn’t have such an interest.”
Fielding questions at a press conference on another matter in Budapest on Thursday, Minister Szijjártó was asked to comment on the final withdrawal of the Polish ambassador from Budapest. “We never interfere with the decisions of other countries when it comes to sending or not sending ambassadors.”
At the same time, Warsaw is reported to be withdrawing all the leaders of foreign representations since the government change in the country, Minister Szijjártó added, according to a ministry statement.
“It is every country’s sovereign right to decide who should represent them in other countries… We have always received the Polish ambassadors with respect, whoever they may be,” Minister Szijjártó said.
“Poland’s current government is pro-war, and we are pro-peace… We think cooperation between the two countries should consist of more than what we think about the war, but the Polish government can not see past it,” Minister Szijjártó said.
Minister Szijjártó was also asked about Hungary’s relationship with Armenia and suggestions that the Hungarian government should “apologise” to Armenia.
“Why should we apologise to Armenia? Because we successfully lobbied in Azerbaijan and managed to take five prisoners of war home [to Armenia]? Should we apologise for the support we provide for Armenian families moving back to the homeland? Or for the latest agreement I signed in Yerevan, under which we offer grants to Armenian students in Hungary?”
He said Hungarian-Armenian ties were the best in decades, “myself and my Armenian colleague have worked a lot on that … we are opening an embassy in Yerevan, they are opening one here,” he said.
