Péter Szijjártó, Minister of Foreign Affairs and Trade, said the end of the war in Ukraine is closer than ever, and peace will contribute greatly to Hungary seeing a year of breakthrough in 2025, in the economy as well as in other fields.
Minister Szijjártó said on the sidelines of Wednesday's cabinet meeting that the three years "in the neighborhood and shadow of the war in Ukraine" had brought sanctions-related inflation, economic challenges and the burden of caring for refugees.
The foreign minister said peace would be "refreshing and liberating" for the entire region as well as Hungary.
He said the opportunity for peace to return to central Europe was now closer than ever. "The past three years have shown that Hungary was right about this, too ... Only a US-Russia agreement can lead to peace."
Talks will continue this week, he said. "Hungary has an interest in the success of these talks and in a wide-ranging, comprehensive agreement, which will be an important guarantee for global and European security." That, in turn, will create the environment for "serious economic growth", he said.
He lamented that "not everyone in Europe thinks this way", and said that liberal leaders were "pro-war ... and want to undermine and hinder the success of US-Russia talks."
"It is clear why Europeans were not invited or allowed to participate in those negotiations. They are negotiating about peace, and they don't need pro-war [partners] for that."
Minister Szijjártó said that at next week's European summit, Hungary will represent the stance that the swift success of the peace talks is in Europe's interest.