“Difficult issues with relation to neighbouring countries can only be solved through developing mutual trust”, Minister of Foreign Affairs and Trade Péter Szijjártó declared in a speech at the plenary session of the Forum of Representatives of the Carpathian Basin (KMKF) in the Parliament Building in Budapest on Friday.
“One could adopt a strategy whereby we are not prepared to cooperate with neighbouring countries until we have reached a consensus on disputed issues. Instead, the Government has decided on an approach whereby we strive to achieve joint successes with them to create a chance of finding solutions to the issues that most effect the everyday lives of cross-border Hungarians”, Mr. Szijjártó explained.
Among factors that fundamentally determine today’s Hungarian foreign policy, the Minister mentioned America’s “more patriotic than ever before” standpoint, the relationships between the United States and Russia and between the EU and Russia, China’s economic expansion, Brexit and the migration crisis.
On the subject of the new American approach, the Foreign Minister said: “The patriotic economic policy must not be regarded as something negative, but as something positive, and Hungary is practicing a similar policy”. In contrast to the international mainstream, we are ‘not getting ourselves worked up’ with regard to the fact that the new U.S. President says that American come first; that’s perfectly natural, and is a “liberating statement” that we “agree with to the fullest possible extent”.
Mr. Szijjártó said that in his view it is irrational to “cry about it”, because “cry as we may”, the U.S. President is not going to change his decisions. “We should instead strive to remain competitive within these new conditions, and the required decisions must be made, as Hungary has done so far”, he pointed out.
On the subject of the possible improvement of relations between the United States and Russia, the Hungarian Foreign Minister declared: “This relationship has been at an absolute low in recent years, but the new U.S. President is open to moving relations away from this low point”. “Despite the fact”, he added, “that major forces are attempting to prevent this”. “Hungary is too small to have any influence on this process, but we know that whenever there has been a conflict between East and West in the past, Central Europe has always drawn the short straw, and accordingly it is in our interests that ‘a normal and balanced cooperation based in international law and mutual respect’ should be established between the United States and Russia”, he explained.
With regard to EU-Russian relations, Mr. Szijjártó said: “These are also at a low point, which has already caused a lot of damage to both Europe and Russia, and also to the Hungarian economy”. “As a neighbour of Ukraine, a stable, sovereign and strong Ukraine whose territorial integrity is respected by all parties is of key importance to Hungary”, he said, adding that the EU is being hypocritical by only assisting Ukraine in words.
The Hungarian Foreign Minister said that in his opinion it must be recognised that the policy of sanctions has failed from both a political and economic perspective, and a rational debate should occur within the EU on these measures.
On the subject of Brexit, Mr. Szijjártó explained: “It is a major setback that Great Britain decided in favour of leaving the EU, but the decision of the British people must be respected”. Great Britain’s exit is both an economic and political loss; the EU’s “sovereigntist camp” is losing its strongest member. “We must strive to achieve a fair agreement with Great Britain”, he added.
Finally, with regard to the migration crisis the Foreign Minister stressed: “No matter what pressure is placed on us and no matter who we are attacked by”, nobody will ever be able to enter this country illegally. Hungary has undertaken these conflicts because it wanted to make it clear: “Anyone who messes with us” and who attacks this nation “will receive a clear response”. We will continue “to stand our ground in conflicts” in future; we are not actively searching for conflicts, but if someone insults the nation we will not leave the accusations unanswered”, he declared.