The Hungarian government rejects that they are pushing the Russian narrative on sanctions

“Hungary’s government considers accusations that Hungary uses the Russian narrative in connection with sanctions outrageous and firmly rejects them,” declared Minister of Foreign Affairs and Trade Péter Szijjártó in Brussels on Monday, reports MTI.

According to the statement from the Foreign Minister, he reported during a break from the EU foreign affairs council meeting that there was an “ideological debate going on overheated by emotions where there is no room left for rationality and common sense.” 

He went on to call the comparison between aid provided by the European Union versus the United States “an unnecessary and artificially created competition.” 

He pointed out that there is no economy in the world that is currently suffering as badly as the EU due to the sanctions. Inflation is sky-high and “we know all too well who is profiting off of this,” he said.  

According to him, the punitive measures did not fulfill any of the hopes attached to them – they did not help bring an end to the war. However, on Monday, there were those who “argued against the very existence of this argument.”  

Péter Szijjártó emphasized that in connection with the ninth sanctions package, there were those who “went so far as to say that anybody claiming the sanctions do not work are employing the Russian narrative.” 

“This is outrageous and must be rejected as definitively as possible,” he underscored. “Others may not understand this – but we do not care what the Russians think of what we have to say. We also do not care what Brussels thinks of what we say and do. 

We are interested in one thing: to be able to look at all existing issues through the lense of our own national interests,” said the Foreign Minister. “Indeed, we must stand with our two feet firmly on the ground… we must recognize that the sanctions are causing incredible damage to the European economy,” he explained.  

The Foreign Minister stated that there is no legitimacy to the arguments over why there should be no direct or indirect negotiations between the warring parties.   

“We are in need of peace and peace talks – and for this, both parties must speak with one another as soon as possible,” he warned. 

Regarding the financial aid program planned for Ukraine, he reiterated that Hungary is ready to continue supporting Kiev bilaterally, but will not partake in a European loan. “A common future is not in the direction of common debt,” he stated. 

“We were supporting Ukraine long before anyone here in Europe started presenting themselves as Ukraine’s best friend,” he added. Péter Szijjártó also touched on the agenda item regarding cooperation between the EU and African countries. 

He highlighted that the continent, and Hungary in particular, are under pressure from both ends: the war from the east and illegal immigration from the south. 

As he said, the borders must be protected, we must take assertive measures against human trafficking networks that violate the sovereignty of European countries, and African states must be supported in eradicating the root causes of migration. 

In connection with the migrant-rescue ships in the Mediterranean, he said that “those operating these ships under the guise of human rights are none other than the human trafficking networks.” 

In answer to a reporter’s question, he described last week’s decision from the German parliament as “political blackmail”: they voted to support that Hungary receive 7.5 billion euros less due to corruption and rule of law problems. 

Photo: The Hungarian government rejects that they are pushing the Russian narrative on sanctions (Photo: MTI/Facebook)