File photo of PM Viktor Orbán and U.S. President Donald Trump
Based on its principles and interests, Hungary has a place in the Board of Peace, as this could go beyond the situation in Gaza and also be useful in resolving the war raging in neighboring Ukraine, since there is currently no better option for ending it than Donald Trump’s peace efforts, said Péter Szijjártó, Minister of Foreign Affairs and Trade, on Thursday in Washington.
Following the arrival of the Hungarian government delegation, the minister stated that a new world order is emerging today, one that is based much more on bilateral relations, intergovernmental cooperation, and personal connections, and that the establishment of the Board of Peace on the initiative of the U.S. President is a very tangible sign of this.
He explained that Donald Trump’s peace efforts bring hope that armed conflicts around the world may be resolved through diplomatic means, as exemplified by the 2020 Abraham agreements, which, after decades of failure, brought about the normalization of relations between Israel and several Arab countries.
In this context, he stated that Hungary is not joining the Board of Peace solely because it supports peace based on its principles and values, but also because, as a direct neighbor of the war in Ukraine, it is in its practical interest to do so, as this initiative may go beyond the situation in Gaza.
We represent a country here in Washington that has been living in the shadow of war for four years. And let us face it, if Donald Trump had been President in 2022, the war in our neighborhood would not have broken out, and our lives would be completely different,”
he said.
“Life in Europe, Central Europe, and Hungary would be completely different. A significant portion of economic resources would not have had to be spent on countering the effects of the war, important development projects could have been carried out, and the economy would have had completely different opportunities,” he added.
He also emphasized that European ideas suggesting that the war in Ukraine can be ended on the battlefield are misguided, and that Donald Trump represents the only hope for a return to peace.
Péter Szijjártó then touched on the issue of the suspension of transit through the Druzhba oil pipeline, emphasizing that Ukraine had clearly begun to “politically blackmail” Hungary, trying to enforce its demands by creating a kind of supply emergency.
However, he emphasized that the government would not give in to these demands, as it would be contrary to national interests to get involved in the war, send Hungarian taxpayers’ money to Ukraine, or allow the country to join the European Union. He noted that the government had done everything in its power to prevent the crisis, and that if the EU were truly a functioning organization, it would now have to side with Hungary and Slovakia, and the European Commission would have to call on Kyiv to stop its political blackmail.
Two EU member states, Hungary and Slovakia, on one side, and a non-EU member state, Ukraine, on the other. Ukraine is deliberately threatening the energy supply of two EU member states for political reasons,”
he warned.
“Moreover, under the agreement between Ukraine and the EU, the Ukrainians are not allowed to do this, therefore, they cannot pose energy challenges to EU member states,” he continued.
The minister also said that the European Commission is now more like the Ukrainian Commission, and that Brussels basically represents Ukrainian interests, even against EU member states in this case.
“Thus the situation is that we are doing everything we can in Hungary to ensure that supplies continue uninterrupted. Hungary’s fuel and energy supplies are secure, MOL has ordered sea shipments, which will arrive at the port in Croatia in early March, from where they can be brought to Hungary within five to ten days. Therefore, in practice, only a small part of the strategic reserve will need to be used,” he said.
FM Péter Szijjártó also pointed out that although U.S. Secretary of State Marco Rubio’s visit to Budapest and Bratislava clearly demonstrates how the United States thinks about Central Europe, this issue is not a matter for Washington but for Brussels.
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Via MTI; Featured photo: MTI/Miniszterelnöki Kommunikációs Fõosztály/Fischer Zoltán
The post Government Supports Donald Trump’s Board of Peace, Citing Role in Ending the Ukraine War appeared first on Hungary Today.
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