The Minister of Foreign Affairs and Trade welcomed the ceasefire agreement of Minsk accepted on Thursday; however, the success of it can only be judged in light of the final implementation.
At a joint press conference held in Budapest after a meeting with his Polish counterpart Grzegorz Schetyna, Péter Szijjártó emphasised that Hungary welcomes the fact that a ceasefire agreement was achieved and said that it is extremely important that all provisions of the agreement signed by the leaders of the Normandy Four and the contact group are respected. It is in Hungary’s interest that a peaceful solution to the Ukrainian conflict is decided upon, and only a solution achieved through negotiations is acceptable – he underlined.
As he said, the implementation of the agreements should be followed closely, as their success can only be judged in light of the final implementation.
The Minister repeated that any kind of arms delivery to Ukraine would serve to strengthen the conflict. He added that Ukraine’s territorial integrity, sovereignty and internationally acknowledged borders cannot be questioned.
Answering a question, Péter Szijjártó said that Prime Minister Viktor Orbán’s Friday visit to Kiev has been under preparation for weeks now, the willingness from the part of Kiev to host him was without question from the beginning on, but the date of the visit was difficult to decide upon because of diplomatic events. The agenda of the talks covers bilateral relations, they will discuss how Hungary might be able to help with the necessary structural reforms in Ukraine - he explained. In order to help with the realisation of public administration and economic reforms, Hungary will send experts. He added that apart from this they will also acquire information on Kiev’s views of the Minsk Talks.
Grzegorz Schetyna said that now it seems that an opportunity will arise to end the armed conflict and he also emphasised the importance of Ukraine’s sovereignty and independence. He also noted that it is not with arms but through negotiations that the situation must be solved.