Deputy Minister of Foreign Affairs and Trade László Szabó had an official meeting with U.S. Deputy Assistant Secretary of State Thomas Melia, the Head of the Bureau of Democracy, Human Rights and Labor, responsible for Europe and Eurasia on 2 March 2015.
Current issues of bilateral relations between Hungary and the United States were on the agenda of the meeting. The parties reviewed the topic of energy security, an issue of utmost importance for Hungary. In this regard, László Szabó emphasised that in addition to assistance from the EU, Hungary would also like to take advantage of the opportunity provided by the U.S. shale gas market in terms of the diversification of energy resources and routes to ensure Central Europe’s energy supply.
As concerns the Ukrainian crisis, László Szabó confirmed that Hungary is committed to Ukraine’s territorial integrity and the restoration of its full sovereignty, and will continue to provide reverse-mode gas transport from Hungary and humanitarian aid for Ukraine. The Deputy Minister also called the attention to the situation of ethnic Hungarians in Transcarpathia. Thomas Melia emphasised that the United States pays particular attention to the situation of minorities in Ukraine, including the situation of ethnic Hungarians in Transcarpathia.
Deputy Minister László Szabó expressed his hope at the meeting that political relations between the two countries will improve as soon as possible to reach the level of economic and security policy cooperation.