FM Szijjarto: International community drifting towards insoluble situation

Hungary's foreign minister spoke at an open debate of the UN Security Council.

Szijjártó Péter az ENSZ BT nyílt vitáján New Yorkban Fotó: KKM

The international community should focus on breaking the vicious cycle of war, the growing migration flows, the ever-increasing threat of terrorism and environmental challenges, otherwise an insoluble situation will emerge, Hungarian Minister of Foreign Affairs and Trade Peter Szijjarto said in New York on Tuesday.

At the open debate of the UN Security Council (UNSC), FM Szijjarto praised the UAE for convening the meeting and for strengthening the global pro-peace majority and supporting the maintenance of channels for dialogue. Although this is a regional war in Ukraine, the armed conflict has global repercussions and the risk of escalation increases with each passing day, and the longer the fighting goes on, the more people die, he stressed in his speech. He pointed out that the escalation of the war first affects neighboring countries, adding that Hungary is affected particularly heavily as Hungarians are dying in the clashes.

And we do not want more people to die in this war. The aim of the international community should be to save human lives. And the only way to do that is peace.

he said. Therefore, Hungary calls for an immediate ceasefire, because this will give a chance for peace talks, and then there is hope for a peace agreement, he added.

FM Szijjarto underlined that no war has a real solution on the battlefield, where only the death toll rises, and that the settlement is always reached at the negotiating table. Hungary appreciates the efforts of everyone who are ready to speak out in favor of peace. He said that the rhetoric of war is nevertheless still stronger than the rhetoric of peace, so the global pro-peace majority needs to turn up the volume. He also pointed out that the world was already living in an era of threats and dangers before the outbreak of the war in Ukraine, and that increasing migratory pressures, the ever-greater threat of terrorism and environmental challenges, combined with armed conflict, had created a vicious cycle. 

The war has led to a collapse in cereal exports, destabilizing already fragile regions. It can bring about a rise of extremist ideologies, leading to further waves of mass migration

he said,

The minister said that Hungary is under dual security pressure, from the east because of the war, and from the south because of migration. He recalled that Hungarian authorities prevented around 270,000 illegal border crossing attempts last year.

He also said that every day spent at war increases the chance of new natural disasters, as Europe's largest nuclear power plant is also operating in dangerous conditions.

Moreover, this situation only intensifies the attacks on nuclear power generation, even though climate change cannot be stopped and environmental goals cannot be achieved without nuclear energy, he said.

Hungarians are filtering out the terrorists

On Tuesday, Mr Szijjarto also stressed that an agreement had been reached between Hungary and the United Nations Office on Counter-Terrorism (UNOCT) that Hungarian experts will also participate in the training of African experts to filter out terrorists and curb the global terrorist threat. The minister added that Hungarian counter-terrorism and IT experts will provide training to their African counterparts to help them better detect potential terrorists in the future.

Through joint efforts, we will prevent terrorists from using international passenger traffic to move between different parts of the world, and thus reduce the global terrorist threat,

- he stressed. He also underlined that Hungary has a modern system in place to do this, as terrorists are not simply hiding among the incoming wave of migrants, but also in international passenger traffic.

A serious problem in the case of Africa is whether terrorists from the Middle East and Europe get to Africa. The more terrorists get there, the bigger the problem," he said. "Of course, the same is true in reverse, so it is important to prevent terrorists from using international passenger transport to move around the world. African countries must be supported to do this," he added.

In addition to promoting the dialogue necessary for peace, the most important task of the global organization is to fight terrorism, Szijjarto said. The minister also pointed out that the threat of terrorism in the world has never been greater than it is today. 

We see that Africa is now the main focus of terrorist organisations, but we are also seeing an increase in terrorist attacks in Afghanistan, and as migration flows become more severe and larger in number, they provide terrorists with more and more opportunities to hide in those,

− he warned. "We have tried to convince ourselves many times that we have defeated the Islamic State, perhaps the largest and most brutal terrorist organisation in the world, but time and again it becomes clear that this is not the case," he said. He also recalled that Hungary would continue to participate in the training mission in Iraq and to assist communities that are the main targets of terrorists.
 

It’s time for the pro-peace global majority to turn up the volume

Speaking about the war, the minister said: "Countries that are in favor of the quickest possible peace in Ukraine are in the majority, but their voices are not as loud as those who represent 'the rhetoric of war.'"

 Though pro-peace countries represent a substantial majority given that the countries of the Middle East, the Gulf region, many African, Latin American, Far Eastern and Asian countries, including China, are among the pro-peace majority, our voice is not as loud as the voices of those who impose decisions and measures that escalate the war

 Mr Szijjarto said. “Somehow the rhetoric of war is still louder and more voluble than the rhetoric of peace,” the minister added. “So it’s time for the pro-peace global majority to turn up the volume.”

Cover photo: Minister of Foreign Affairs and Trade Peter Szijjarto speaks at the open debate of the UN Security Council (UNSC) in New York on 13 June 2023. (Photo: MTI/Ministry of Foreign Affairs)