In the statement put out by the Ministry of Foreign Affairs and Trade, Minister Szijjarto reported on the talks with his Russian counterpart, whom he always makes a point of meeting while attending the UN General Assembly. "It would be good if other Western politicians did the same, then perhaps there would be more hope for peace in Ukraine, an end to the killing and the saving of lives," he said.
The UN was originally created so that countries in conflict or even at war with each other, could talk about difficult issues. It seems, this week has also been a loss in this respect, because no negotiation was reached between Western and Russian leaders that would bring hope of the war ending soon,
he added.
Peter Szijjarto underlined that one of the main topics was the war in Ukraine, and in this context he reiterated the Hungarian position.
"I told Mr Lavrov that it is in Hungary's interest that the war should end as soon as possible, and that Hungarian lives are also being lost in this war, and that we are, therefore, calling for an immediate ceasefire, followed by the start of peace negotiations," he stressed.
Colleague Sergey Lavrov also informed me that Russia is ready to negotiate peace. Obviously, many details need to be clarified. I sincerely hope that one day the circumstances will arise that will make it clear to both Ukraine and Russia that they must seek a solution at the negotiating table as soon as possible,
he said, stressing.
Hungary continues to stand firmly in favor of peace, and we will use every available opportunity to communicate this position to the warring parties, as well.
The Hungarian minister went on to say that the bilateral cooperation regarding energy was also discussed, and that his Russian counterpart assured him that Russia would meet its contractual obligations.
"We can rest assured about Hungary's energy supply. The stipulated amounts of both crude oil and natural gas will be delivered as scheduled, and the same is true for nuclear fuel," he said, concluding,
therefore, Hungary's energy supply is still safe, and Sergey Lavrov promised to guarantee this,
On the state of the Paks nuclear power plant expansion, Mr Szijjarto reported that the progress of the works to date, still indicate that the new units will be operational by 2030. So far this year, 3.3 million tons of oil and 4.2 billion cubic meters of natural gas have arrived from Russia.
He confirmed the interest of parties in the continued functioning of the Organisation for Security and Cooperation in Europe (OSCE), which is now the only platform for dialogue between East and West in Europe.
The FM also touched on the issue of the new Russian state textbook. "I told Mr Lavrov that the Revolution of 1956 is one of the most uplifting events in Hungarian history, when Hungarian people became heroes, stood up for the freedom and sovereignty of their country, fighting against overwhelming forces. Therefore classifying these freedom fighters as fascists is simply unacceptable, and this is an issue that is not even up for debate," he said.
"Sergey Lavrov assured me that the latest statement by President Putin is the guiding principle in this matter," he added.
The two foreign ministers discussed the maintenance of economic cooperation in all areas not falling under the sanctions.
Mr Szijjarto concluded that in order to achieve peace and stop the killing, we need to talk to each other and keep the channels of communication open. "If we don't do that, we give up all hope for peace, and we don't want that," he said.
Cover photo: Foreign Ministers Peter Szijjarto and Sergey Lavrov in New York, NY (Photo: KKM)
