Péter Szijjártó, Minister of Foreign Affairs and Trade, said Hungary, as a neighbor of the Western Balkans, has a vested interest in peace and stability in the region, and contributes to its development via economic development programs.
Minister Szijjártó told a joint press conference, after talks with Zeljko Budimir, the minister in charge of science and higher education in Republika Srpska, that the inauguration of US President Donald Trump a few days ago had launched a new era in world politics.
"From now on, values such as patriotism, respect for national sovereignty, efforts towards peace, recognising the threat of illegal migration and therefore stopping it, respect for family, and accepting the simple truth that people are born either man or woman will determine world politics," he said.
"We are in an easy situation in respect of Republika Srpska and Hungary because we have already pursued these principles and our cooperation is based precisely on these principles and these values," he added.
"We are pursuing a responsible neighbourhood policy, and it is an important principle that we respect the will of the peoples of the Western Balkans, which we demonstrate by respecting the leaders they elected," he added.
"We greatly respect the Republika Srpska and its leaders. We consider attempts to pressure Republika Srpska from Brussels and during the failed Democrats administration from Washington shameful and anti-democratic. These attempts question the will of the people of Republika Srpska," he said.
Minister Szijjártó noted that the Hungarian government contributes to the development of the Western Balkans with economic development schemes, and one of the most successful schemes was in Republika Srpska, where some 1,782 local agricultural businesses have received grants to procure equipment.
He added that thanks to the total support of around 10 billion forints, the affected companies managed to buy equipment worth around 16 billion forints from Hungarian companies, and the scheme would be continued.
"It is also a central part of our responsible neighbourhood policy to respect the fact that the European Union now needs the Western Balkans more than the Western Balkans need EU membership," he said. "It is high time they understand in Brussels that European integration should not necessarily paired with lecturing and preaching," he added.
He said Hungarian companies were also receiving support from the Hungarian government, thanks to which many of them became market leaders in various countries.
He added that under a new cooperation scheme, fifty students from Republika Srpska can study at Hungarian universities with a scholarship from September.
Meanwhile, in a separate statement, regarding EU sanctions against Russia and their extension, Minister Szijjártó said sanctions were "part of a flawed and failed strategy", and it was clear from the past three years that punitive measures "are totally pointless" while also doing untold harm to the EU and Hungarian economies.
Ukraine's restrictions on energy supplies through its territory added to the challenges and the damage done, he said. Hungary always regarded sanctions as a failure, he added, "and now ... the harm caused by sanctions has reached a critical level."
Minister Szijjártó noted that the US president was now seeking a solution with Russia to the war, "and I think the outcome ... cannot be ignored here in Europe at a time when another decision on sanctions is being made."
Meanwhile, he said that if a vote were to be held today on Ukraine's prospective EU membership, "obviously the answer would be 'no' as Ukraine does not meet the necessary conditions whatsoever," he said, highlighting the example of its stance on national minority rights.