Civilized Dialogue Between East and West Is a Must, Says Foreign Minister

L-R: OSCE Secretary General Feridun Sinirlioğlu and Foreign Minister Péter Szijjártó

Hungary’s security depends on East-West cooperation, and the Organization for Security and Co-operation in Europe (OSCE) is the best platform for this. We therefore support its functioning and even its strengthening, Minister of Foreign Affairs and Trade Péter Szijjártó said in Budapest on Tuesday.

At a press conference held jointly with OSCE Secretary General Feridun Sinirlioğlu, the Minister stressed that Hungary’s geographical location has made it a historical experience that civilized cooperation between East and West is a good thing, but the lack of it is a serious problem.

The last time we lost 40 years of our lives because of the conflict between East and West. Thus, it is in Hungary’s vital national security interest to have civilized cooperation between East and West,”

he underlined.

“The war in Ukraine and the responses to it have created an extremely dangerous conflict between the East and the West, and this conflict has a serious risk of escalation into war, and at certain times it has even had the appearance of a third world war,” he added.

Péter Szijjártó welcomed the fact that the inauguration of US President Donald Trump has brought back hope for civilized cooperation. In this context, he described the reopening of diplomatic channels between Washington and Moscow, which has brought the two countries into direct contact, as the most joyful and reassuring development in recent years. “At the same time, we can see clearly that there are dangers for the peace agreement. Most of all, the success of the peace agreement is being threatened from Brussels, and we therefore call on the politicians in Brussels not to obstruct the peace talks, not to jeopardize the success of the peace talks,” he emphasized.

The Foreign Minister also stressed that

a very important prerequisite for restoring Europe’s long-term security and competitiveness is to ensure a continuous and civilized dialogue between East and West, and the OSCE is a guarantee for this, as it was founded for this very purpose.

“We are in favor of starting a dialogue on a new European security architecture, but this only makes sense if we include both Turkey and Russia, as they are all part of the European reality,” Mr Szijjártó emphasized. He added that East-West cooperation is essential for our security, and the OSCE provides the best platform for this.

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