Péter Szijjártó, Minister of Foreign Affairs and Trade, said Hungary sees the Turkic Council as a “forum of peace”, where all members stand for a diplomatic solution to the war in Ukraine, in opposition to the “rhetoric of escalation” prevalent in international politics.
At the Turkic Council, the common aim is an immediate ceasefire and peace talks, he told the foreign ministers’ meeting in Samarkand. Turkey has so far been the only successful mediator between Ukraine and Russia, and the agreement on relaunching crop deliveries showed that “steps towards peace are possible even in seemingly hopeless situations,” the ministry quoted Minister Szijjártó as saying. The council stands for cooperation between East and West, and as such, is key to global security, he said. Minister Szijjártó noted that Hungary, an observer in the Council alongside Turkmenistan, is eager to amp up its role in the group. The government has opened embassies in all member states, namely Azerbaijan, Kazakhstan, Kyrgyzstan, Turkey and Uzbekistan, he added. Hungary is also offering a total of 990 grants for students from the six Council participants wishing to study there, he added. Trade turnover between Hungary and the six Turkic Council states has grown two-and-a-half-fold in the past 12 years to 4.5 billion euros, he said. The Hungarian foreign ministry and the Turkic Council have signed an agreement on setting up an Institute for Drought Prevention in Budapest.