Levente Magyar: Nuclear Cooperation Is a Key New Area in Hungary–U.S. Relations

Levente Magyar, parliamentary state secretary at the Hungarian Ministry of Foreign Affairs and Trade, held talks in Washington with Charles McLaughlin, senior director for European and Russian Affairs at the White House National Security Council. They primarily discussed bilateral issues and concluded that despite the complex international situation, relations between the two countries are developing excellently, the state secretary told Hungary's state news agency MTI on Thursday.

Cover photo: Levente Magyar, parliamentary state secretary at Hungary's Ministry of Foreign Affairs and Trade (Photo: MTI)

"Since these relations have never been as close and friendly in history as they are today, the bilateral consultations that have become regular take place in a friendly, relaxed, and honest tone, where we can put on the table all the issues that we need to resolve together."

We are able to express our expectations and requests of one another, and these are consistently understood and fulfilled by the other side. This was the case, for example, when the Americans removed the Paks 2 project from the situation it had fallen into due to the sanctions imposed on certain Russian entities,

Levente Magyar emphasized.

This was resolved at our request a few weeks ago. They also have requests, for instance, that we open up to the American nuclear industry alongside the Russian one. And since this aligns with our intentions, we are able to meet this request,

 continued the state secretary.

He highlighted that 'America first' is  a core principle of U.S. foreign policy, but the Americans respect that Hungary takes a similar approach:

For us, Hungary is first, and we aim to assert Hungarian interests,

he emphasized.

"This is precisely why this relationship works because, despite the difference in weight, it is defined by honesty and mutual respect. Our American partners understand and appreciate that our foreign policy decisions are made solely based on Hungarian interests, and never on perceived or real external expectations," concluded Levente Magyar.

Cover photo: Levente Magyar, parliamentary state secretary at Hungary's Ministry of Foreign Affairs and Trade (Photo: MTI)