At the Pecs stop of the nation-wide tour to promote the national consultation, Peter Szijjarto stressed that the risk of the war in Ukraine spreading is greater than ever, which is why peace mission efforts must be intensified. He pointed out the peculiar situation that although the US presidential election had brought the world closer to a peaceful resolution of the conflict, the risk of escalation was now at its highest because of the actions of the outgoing Washington administration, which had disregarded the will of the people.
A missed opportunity
European leaders had missed a perfect opportunity to course-correct the botched Ukraine strategy, which has significantly weakened the continent.
They could have said, 'we had a great strategy, but since the tides have turned in the United States, we have to change, too'. But they missed that chance too, which is emblematic of how much their political sense has failed them in the self-deception of the last two and a half years,
he pointed out. "When we hear that we should 'support Ukraine for as long as necessary, until Ukraine wins and Russia loses', we have to ask the questions: what does it mean that Ukraine wins, that Russia loses? We've been asking these questions for almost three years now and we haven't received a damn answer."
The burdens of war
He stressed that all of Europe will be bearing the burdens of the war for a long time to come, which is why there is a great need to step up peace efforts, especially in view of recent US actions that have made diplomatic settlement difficult. The minister warned that some decisions could easily start a spiraling where there is no stopping.
If all hell breaks loose here, there won't be much left standing - considering the existing nuclear capabilities,
he pointed out, noting that this was partly the reason for his trip to Moscow, the other reason being to further guarantee our country's energy security, as the United States had put countries in the region that buy Russian energy in a difficult situation by sanctioning Gazprombank, so a solution must be found.
We are working together to find a solution, and today with the Russians, relevant company executives and the deputy prime minister for energy we reviewed what steps are needed to solve this problem by December 20, which is the deadline for the next payment,
he explained, saying that energy supply is not a matter of political taste, but of physical reality and infrastructure, and that so far Hungary has not received a better offer for the reliable and competitively priced supply of natural gas and oil. The foreign minister also noted that Western European countries are also buying Russian energy carriers, for example France doubled its imports of liquefied natural gas (LNG) from Russia in the first half of this year.
Duplicitous politicians
He also referred to the duplicitousness of some of his colleagues, saying that many of them regularly assure him of their support privately before EU foreign affairs meetings, but do not stand by him in the debate.
So, there is a lot of hypocrisy in world politics regard relations with the East, not only with Russia, but with China, as well,
Mr Szijjarto warned, praising the Hungarian government's strategy of economic neutrality, which fosters Hungary's trade with Eastern and Western partners simultaneously, despite the growing talk of decoupling the European and Chinese economies.
You can fight against the reality of the global economy, but it is not worth it, because it is self-sabotaging. Fighting against the reality of the world economy, this bloc philosophy, is the most damaging for the world economy, including the European economy. If the world were to be divided into blocs again, it would also be damaging for us Hungarians,
he remarked, and in conclusion underlining the need for civilized cooperation based on mutual respect.
Cover photo: Along side Hungary's Foreign Affairs and Trade Minister Peter Szijjarto (left), regional Fidesz MP Peter Hoppal (right) speaks at the sports hall of the Reformed High School in Pecs on the 'Hungary can do it!' nation-wide tour to promote the national consultation (Photo: MTI/Judit Ruprech)
