"Action against terrorism in the Middle East can only occur by combining global efforts and through cooperation," Minister of Foreign Affairs and Trade Péter Szijjártó said on Wednesday at the Open Debate on the Settlement of conflicts in the Middle East and North Africa and countering terrorist threat in the region, organised by the United Nations Security Council.
As a gesture of courtesy to Russia, which convened the debate and is presiding over the Security Council this month, the Hungarian Minister began his English-language speech in Russian.
He emphasised: "It has been shown that with a global will and cooperation even the most difficult international problems can be resolved, and this is not possible without Russia". He pointed out that without promptly reviewing the relationship between the transatlantic community and Russia, it will be impossible to stabilise the situation in civil war stricken Syria, which is the main source of the wave of migration towards Europe.
Mr. Szijjártó called the endless wave of migration the European Union’s most serious challenge since its founding. 30-35 million people could begin heading for Europe, he explained.
The Foreign Minister stressed that it is the international community's common interest to avoid Europe's destabilisation as a result of migration pressure, first in the periphery, then in its centre. This requires the consolidation of the situation in the Middle East and in North Africa, he explained, towards which reinforcing of the fight against the jihadists of the Islamic State is a fundamental task, the Minister said.
In this context, he mentioned that the scope of responsibilities of the Hungarian military contingent serving in Iraqi Kurdistan will be expanded to include training duties.
Another fundamental task according to the Minister is to stop the war in Syria, which requires the broadest possible international cooperation.