Péter Szijjártó, Minister of Foreign Affairs and Trade, said the Abraham Accords signed during US President Donald Trump’s first term should be expanded in order to guarantee long-term peace in the Middle East.
"The name of peace in the Middle East, as in Ukraine, is that of Donald Trump," Minister Szijjártó said in New York on Wednesday.
The Abraham Accords signed during Trump’s first term led to Israel normalising its relations with several Arab countries after several decades of unsuccessful peace efforts, Minister Szijjártó said ahead of a UN Security Council meeting on the situation in the Middle East, according to a ministry statement.
"I believe the path to long-term peaceful life in the Middle East is through the renewal and expansion of the Abraham Accords," the minister said.
"This is also very important for us, because the security of the Middle East has a significant impact on the security of Central Europe," Minister Szijjártó said. "If there’s no security in the Middle East, then the migration waves heading towards Europe will always intensify. Right now, we’re seeing these migration waves making their way through the land route, so they’re a direct threat to Hungary."
Minister Szijjártó said another reason why peace in the Middle East was important for Hungary was that, as a Christian country, Hungary felt responsible for persecuted Christian communities there.
Hungary’s government has so far spent around 30 billion forints (EUR 75.1m) supporting Christian communities in the Middle East, which has included contributions to the Catholic Church’s humanitarian and social programmes in the Gaza Strip, the minister said.
He also expressed Hungary’s support for a ceasefire and hostage deal in the Middle East, saying they would give those living in the region a chance at a more peaceful life and open the door for the release of the last Hungarian hostage
"One Hungarian hostage is still being held by Hamas, which is why we demand the immediate and unconditional release of the hostages," Minister Szijjártó said.
Meanwhile, Minister Szijjártó said that in addition to the UN forums, he will also hold economic talks as well as meetings with Saudi Arabia’s economy minister and Serbia’s minister in charge of gender equality.
He said that because the European Union had so far been unable to sign a free trade deal with the Gulf Cooperation Council, it should hold talks with one Gulf country at a time in order to reach agreements with them as soon as possible.