Péter Szijjártó, Minister of Foreign Affairs and Trade, said no one had used the word “peace” at the meeting of EU foreign ministers in Luxembourg, and the atmosphere had been “quite combative”, adding that emphasis should be given to the need for peace rather than using escalatory rhetoric.
The foreign minister urged communication channels to be kept open since a diplomatic settlement would be lost without them. “Our top priority is to ensure the security of Hungary and the Hungarian people,” he said. “Regrettably, there was much talk of sanctions,” he said. “Some leaders don’t want to acknowledge the facts”, he said, insisting that punitive action had not swiftly ended the war but led instead to economic hardship in Europe. Referring to the Nord Stream gas pipeline explosions, he qualified the attack as a “shocking terrorist act”, and he said the EU should consider any potential sabotage against the Turkish Stream pipeline as a terrorist attack. On the topic of Europe-China relations, Szijjártó said attempts were underway to “undermine bilateral cooperation”, and this may lead to “serious economic hardship”. He stressed the need for “pragmatic, rational, mutually beneficial cooperation” with China.