Prime Minister Viktor Orbán has sent his heartfelt condolences to Frau Kohl-Richter following the death of his friend Helmet Kohl, the former Chancelllor of Germany.
"It was barely a year ago that we met in your home in Oggersheim. In my mind’s eye I can still see the face of the Chancellor, my dear friend Helmut, as he bade me farewell, and I can hear the words he repeated to me: Europe, Europe," the prime minister wrote in a letter.
"Indeed, at a time when we are in great need of the courage, wisdom and foresight of the founding fathers, we have lost one of united Europe’s great architects," PM Orbán added.
"Helmut Kohl was a great friend of the Central European nations. This is why all leaders of Hungary always had great trust in him. How much we need that trust today! In Europe it is impossible to jointly make and implement decisions without mutual trust," the prime minister said.
"Kohl’s nation-building work will always be an example and a guide. With his life’s greatest deed, the creator of German unity and his country’s refounder also guaranteed the freedom and independence of the nations of Central Europe," he continued.
"What an enormous political and moral achievement: to unite a nation so that other nations also gain freedom and advancement. We wish to preserve and deepen this alliance between Germany and Central Europe in the future also. This is one more debt we owe to the memory of the great chancellor," he added.
"I am grateful that he looked upon me as a friend, and I could always rely on his helpful advice. I had the opportunity – if only for a few minutes – to see the love and self-sacrifice that you, Dear Frau Kohl-Richter, devoted to him in the ever more difficult years and hours. I can reassure you that the Hungarian people will always value the Chancellor’s life work among Europe’s most precious achievements," the prime minister concluded.