The foreign minister has underlined how Prime Minister Viktor Orbán made it clear in London that Hungary will not send troops or weapons to Ukraine, nor will it allow transports of weapons to cross its territory “directly to the state attacked by Russia”.
After attending talks alongside PM Orbán with Visegrad leaders and Prime Minister Boris Johnson, Péter Szijjártó, Minister of Foreign Affairs and Trade, said the talks had focused “exclusively on issues around the Ukraine war and security challenges resulting from the conflict”, and he dismissed “fake news” reports regarding the talks. Hungary, the Czech Republic, Slovakia, and Poland are all interested in creating peace and providing assistance to Ukraine but “each is doing so in its own way”, Minister Szijjártó said. The other three Visegrad countries have decided to allow the transit of lethal aid, while the Hungarian government is helping Ukraine “by way of the largest humanitarian operation in its history”, the minister said, adding that this assistance was exclusively humanitarian. Hungary should not get mixed up in the conflict, he said, adding that the government’s first duty was to protect the Hungarian people. Also, the Hungarian government “cannot support sanctions that could jeopardize the country’s energy supplies”, Minister Szijjártó said. Without gas from Russia, “there will be no heating” and industry would face serious difficulties, he said. Further, if the Paks nuclear upgrade project were halted, “public utility bills would increase fourfold”, he said. Representatives of the government are scheduled to hold talks in Serbia on Wednesday, he said.
Photo credit: Facebook/Szijjártó Péter