“The Syrian conflict cannot be resolved without an American-Russian accord, but this is what we are currently furthest away from”, Minister of Foreign Affairs and Trade Péter Szijjártó told reporters on Friday after the United States launched a missile strike against a target in Syria.
The Minister spoke to the press in Gyöngyöshalász, where he was attending the inauguration of Apollo Tyres’ new plant.
“It is in the interests of Hungary, Europe, and I believe the whole world for an American-Russian accord to come into being as soon as possible on resolving the situation in Syria. However (…) it would not be overly pessimistic to state that this is what we are currently furthest away from in view of the events of recent years, Mr. Szijjártó said.
“It is Hungary’s primary interest that the ongoing conflicts in the vicinity of Europe be resolved as soon as possible by the countries who have the power to influence them”, he stressed.
The Minister also emphasised that Hungary rejects the use of chemical weapons in any form in the strongest possible terms and “can only express its hope that nothing similar happens again in future”.
In reply to a question, Mr. Szijjártó also stated that the Hungarian Government’s standpoint on the issue had already been made very clear: that the fight against terrorism, one of the main sites of which is Syria, is perhaps the most important task facing the civilised world today. “And since Hungary made new pledges with regard to the fight against terrorism only very recently, this conflict has so far not had an effect on bilateral relations”, he added.
The United States launched a massive attack on a Syrian air base in Homs with 59 Tomahawk missiles at dawn on Friday in response to an alleged Sarin gas attack by Syrian government forces against Ildib Province on Tuesday. As a result of the attack, Moscow suspended the validity of the Russian-American agreement coordinating air strikes in Syria.