In one of his most critical speeches, Foreign Minister Szijjártó highlighted the need for diplomacy over military interventions, especially in ongoing global conflicts.
"We need negotiation tables, not battlefields," Szijjártó declared. He expressed concern that military solutions are often prioritized, but have consistently failed to bring lasting peace. Referring specifically to Ukraine, where the war has persisted for nearly 1,000 days, he emphasized that "there is no solution on the battlefield; peace can only be achieved through dialogue."
Hungary, he noted, is committed to supporting peaceful resolutions through international diplomacy, a position bolstered by its participation in UN peacekeeping missions in Lebanon, Kosovo, Cyprus, and Western Sahara.
Szijjártó also underscored the importance of mediation efforts by countries like Turkey and Qatar, whose diplomatic initiatives have yielded tangible results. "Turkey has been leading the only successful mediation in the Ukraine war, and Qatar has played a key role in Middle Eastern conflicts," he said. Highlighting a recent success, he mentioned Qatar’s role in securing the release of Hungarian hostages held by Hamas, demonstrating the power of diplomatic engagement over military force.
In a meeting with UN Secretary-General António Guterres, Szijjártó raised concerns about the lack of dialogue between global superpowers, specifically the United States and Russia. "I asked the UN secretary-general to mediate between the U.S. and Russia," he revealed, stressing that the absence of communication between these two nations poses a severe threat to global security.
"Without American-Russian dialogue, there will be no end to the war in Ukraine," Szijjártó warned, pointing to the broader implications for global stability and Hungary’s broader diplomatic strategy.
"We must prevent the world from being split into new blocs. The Cold War was a nightmare we cannot return to," he said, emphasizing the crucial role of the UN as a platform for dialogue. The UN, the FM said, was not created as a club for like-minded countries but as a forum where even conflicting nations could come together for discussion.
Shifting to global health concerns, FM Szijjártó took the opportunity to address the growing threat of antimicrobial resistance (AMR) at a special UN session. Hungary, he said, is fully committed to the fight against AMR, which he described as a "silent pandemic," adding that international cooperation is essential in overcoming this issue, as diseases do not respect borders. "We all know that pandemics like these do not recognize borders or political affiliations. The fight against them can only be won through comprehensive global cooperation," he stated.
Szijjártó called for universal access to affordable and effective antimicrobial drugs, vaccines, and diagnostics. He also highlighted Hungary’s efforts to regulate the use of antibiotics in livestock and improve wastewater management to reduce the spread of resistant pathogens.
"In Hungary, 90 percent of wastewater is treated, meaning the rivers leave our country cleaner than when they entered," Szijjártó proudly noted.
Energy security was another key focus of Szijjártó's speeches. In a meeting with his Belarusian counterpart, Maksim Ryzhenkov, Szijjártó praised Belarus as a "reliable partner" in oil transit, emphasizing the importance of stable energy supplies for Hungary and the broader Central European region.
"Belarus has always been a reliable partner in oil transit. Not once have there been issues with the transportation of oil through their country," Szijjártó remarked, referring to the Druzhba pipeline, which supplies oil to Hungary and Slovakia.
He also highlighted the growing role of the TurkStream pipeline, through which Hungary receives significant volumes of natural gas. "This year, we have already received as much gas through TurkStream as we did in the entire previous year—more than 5.5 billion cubic meters," Szijjártó reported.
Looking ahead, he pointed to future energy diversification efforts, including ongoing negotiations with Qatar to begin importing liquefied natural gas (LNG) by 2027. "We are already mapping out routes to integrate Qatari LNG into our energy mix," he added, stressing the need for Southeast Europe to expand its gas transportation infrastructure to accommodate these plans.
In addition to addressing geopolitical and economic issues, FM Szijjártó underscored Hungary’s commitment to promoting peace through cultural and religious harmony. Speaking at an event of the United Nations Alliance of Civilizations (UNAOC), he presented Hungary as a model for peaceful coexistence between different ethnic and religious groups. "Hungary is a great example of how various nationalities and religions can live together peacefully," he said. He praised Hungary’s commitment to preserving the cultural identities of its national communities and ensuring their rights to education and administration in their native languages.
Szijjártó contrasted Hungary’s success with the situation in neighboring Ukraine for the past nine years. "In Ukraine, the rights of national minorities have been systematically destroyed," he argued, pledging that Hungary would continue to raise this issue in international forums.