Péter Szijjártó, Minister of Foreign Affairs and Trade, said Hungary stands for peace everywhere in the world, including in the Caucasus.
Speaking in Yerevan after talks with Armenian counterpart Ararat Mirzoyan on Tuesday, the foreign minister said the government continues to promote a peace agreement between Azerbaijan and Armenia following years of conflict.
Minister Szijjártó said that when it came to resolving conflicts around the world, Hungary supported diplomatic solutions.
Previously strained ties between Hungary and Armenia "have improved significantly as a result of reconciliation efforts over the past years", as a result of which "we managed to repatriate Armenian POWs from Azerbaijan", Minister Szijjártó said.
Hungary is opening an embassy in Yerevan, while Armenia will open its embassy in Budapest this year, he noted.
"We support Armenia’s cooperation with the EU, the liberalisation of the visa regime, and the implementation of the partnership road map," the minister added.
Minister Szijjártó said Hungary provided help and support to Armenian families in returning to their homeland. "We are helping them directly and through the Armenian churches," he said, adding that Hungary has offered to host 150 children of those families in summer camps.
On the topic of economic cooperation, Minister Szijjártó noted a new record set in bilateral trade last year. "There is high demand in Armenia for Hungarian pharmaceuticals," he said.
Minister Szijjártó also said that Hungarian low-cost carrier Wizz Air will set up a base at Yerevan airport in the autumn and operate services to 18 destinations.
He announced that an agreement has been signed on nuclear energy cooperation aimed at extending the life-cycle of nuclear technologies employed by both countries. "This means that we will build professional cooperation in this area," the minister said.
Minister Szijjártó noted another agreement signed on offering Hungarian university grants to 30 Armenian students.
Meanwhile, during a panel discussion at the Yerevan Dialogue forum, Minister Szijjártó said Hungary's foreign policy was always guided by national interests, even if the government's positions, which sometimes diverged from the liberal mainstream, led some to label it as "fascist, a Kremlin propagandist, or a friend of Russian President Vladimir Putin".
He said the EU was an example of how mutual respect had disappeared from international politics, adding that the standard of debate had also declined.
"Over the past few years, it has been very hard to engage in rational dialogue on the European political stage, and with the outbreak of war in Ukraine, this has become basically impossible."
With Donald Trump again in the White House, the situation "improved immediately", he said, adding that those previously marginalised were now part of the mainstream and in the majority.
Patriotism and a sovereign view were once again becoming part of the mainstream, the minister declared.
Minister Szijjártó said there was a yawning gap between public statements and private discussions among EU member states regarding Ukraine's EU aspirations.
He said Western Balkan countries were far ahead of Ukraine in the EU corridor. "Take Montenegro, a country that poses no threat to the European Union in terms of size or population, a country that is already part of the euro zone and NATO. Why can't Montenegro and why can't Serbia become members of the European Union? Why don't we admit North Macedonia?"
He said the "merit-based process" should apply to Ukraine as well. Being at war "is not a merit", he added.