Peace in Ukraine would save human lives, so the Hungarian government calls for a ceasefire and the immediate start of peace talks, the Minister of Foreign Affairs of Hungary told the N1 TV channel in Croatia, Infostart.hu writes.

In an interview, Peter Sijarto emphasized that the most important task of the international community at the moment is saving human lives.

The minister substantiated Hungary’s position, which differs from the rest of the European Union, by the fact that a significant Hungarian community of 150,000 lives in Ukraine, whose members are massively recruited into the Ukrainian army. It is not Germans or Danes, but Hungarians who are losing their lives in this war, said the head of Hungarian diplomacy, who added: Hungary demands an immediate ceasefire and peace talks, because peace is the only way to save lives.

Peter Szijjártó expressed confidence that members of the European and transatlantic community will accept Hungary’s position, because, in his opinion, now “in this hemisphere” the rhetoric of war is much louder, much stronger than the rhetoric of peace.

Since Hungary is not part of this conflict, the Hungarian government cannot say what will happen after the ceasefire, said Peter Szijjártó, who noted that territorial integrity and sovereignty must be respected; it is clear “who attacked whom”, Hungary condemns Russia because of the war.

To the remark that the end of the war depends on Russian President Vladimir Putin, the Hungarian foreign minister replied: it is clear that there are two sides to the war, and he hopes that both will negotiate, because both want to achieve a lasting peace.

The head of the Ministry of Foreign Affairs also stated that if the war escalates, it will not be thousands of kilometers away, but in neighboring regions. However, Hungary does not want to participate in this war, Szijarto emphasized.

Answering the question of what would have happened to Ukraine today if the West had not sent weapons, Peter Sijarto said that, in his opinion, the question of what would have happened if the war had not started is much more important, “because this war should have been avoided”.

Answering a question about whether Prime Minister Viktor Orbán will visit Kyiv, the head of Hungarian diplomacy said that they had received an invitation, and technical details regarding the preparation of the visit should now be clarified. As soon as all the prerequisites are met, the visit can take place, Sijarto added.

The Hungarian minister called the ongoing negotiations between Hungary and the European Union regarding EU resources an unpleasant situation. In his opinion, the freezing of resources is not a problem from the point of view of the state budget, since last year Hungary’s economy grew by almost 5% and a lot of investments were made.

In the case of EU resources, this is a matter of principle, because these are not humanitarian donations, but data from the activities of Europeans, particularly Hungarians. The fact that part of the European money is not allocated to Hungary, but is refused for political reasons, is unacceptable, emphasized Peter Szijjártó.

According to the Minister of Foreign Affairs, the reason for the differences is that Brussels does not like the way the Hungarian government runs the country, that it opposes federalism and supports national powers. “We are a right-wing, patriotic, Christian government that is completely at odds with the mainstream, and Brussels can’t stomach that,” a Hungarian official said. “They want us to fail. This is what they wanted in the last election,” said Peter Szijjártó, noting that, in his opinion, press freedom and justice are guaranteed in Hungary.

The minister drew attention to the fact that it was recently revealed that the united Hungarian opposition was supported by tens of millions of dollars from abroad, but despite this FIDESZ-KDNP (People’s Christian Democratic Party) defeated them with “55 percent to 35 “. hundred”.

Peter Szijjártó reiterated the fact that the Hungarian government supports the accession of Sweden and Finland to NATO, and, in his opinion, the legislative power in Budapest will also ratify this accession. A proposal in this regard has already been submitted to the parliament, and the prime minister also appealed to the parliamentary groups of the ruling parties to support this proposal.

Answering the question whether Hungary’s strong support for Republika Srpska in Bosnia has a stabilizing effect on the region, the foreign minister emphasized: Hungary has very good, strategic, friendly relations with Serbia and considers stability in the Western Balkans important, and from this statement supports, for example, acceleration of the EU enlargement process. Economic stability is also an important aspect of stability, which is why tenders for small and medium-sized enterprises have been announced in Serbia.

Regarding the case of the INA oil company, Peter Sijarto said that they do not want to interfere in the owners’ dispute and expressed the hope that the owners will be able to conduct a civilized dialogue on this matter. Instead, he does not understand why the INA case cannot be separated from all other aspects of bilateral cooperation, Peter Sijarto told Croatian television N1.

The material was made with the support of the Rador agency