In his video, Minister Szijjártó said that the Hungarians and Hungary have a special relationship with the Poles and Poland; this is not a mere strategic partnership, but a brotherhood between the two countries and the two nations. So, for Hungarians, it is always a matter of great concern when they receive bad news from Poland.
FM Péter Szijjártó: Strategic calm is needed in this situation
Nov 16, 2022
Strategic calm is needed in this situation, Minister of Foreign Affairs and Trade Péter Szijjártó said in a video posted on his Facebook page on Wednesday, reacting to the Tuesday missile strike in eastern Poland that killed two people.
Regarding the missile strike, the minister said he had a telephone conversation this morning with Polish Foreign Minister Zbigniew Rau, to whom he expressed the Hungarian people’s solidarity with all Poles.
He stressed that if Poland needs help in this situation, "Hungary is at your disposal."
During their call, FM Zbigniew Rau informed his Hungarian counterpart that nothing has been validated yet for sure regarding Tuesday's missile strike; for the moment, authorities do not know who was using the missiles that hit Poland, nor who fired them and with what kind of warheads.
FM Szijjártó reassured the public that the Polish authorities will conduct a thorough investigation at the crash site, and the Hungarian public will be informed of any new, validated findings as they are unveiled.
Foreign Minister Zbigniew Rau also told FM Szijjártó that Russia's ambassador to Warsaw had been summoned to the Foreign Ministry and had been handed a written appeal demanding an explanation for Tuesday's events.
In addition, the Polish foreign minister notified FM Szijjártó that Poland had initiated the procedure under Article 4 of the NATO Treaty, the article used in the case where a member state feels that its territorial integrity, political independence, or security has been threatened so that it may consult the other member states.
In his address, Péter Szijjártó stressed that the most important thing is for decision-makers to be strategically calm to "prevent tragic and uncontrollable consequences." He added that due to the Russian missile attack on Ukraine, a significant part of Ukraine's energy infrastructure has been damaged, and as a result, oil supplies via the “Friendship” oil pipeline have been suspended temporarily since Tuesday evening.
According to information received on Wednesday morning, specifically, the transformer station that powers the equipment needed to ensure the pipeline’s flow had been damaged.
FM Szijjártó said that “fixing this is easier than if the pipeline had been hit.” He reassured the public that Hungary has several months of supplies, so its energy supply is not at risk, and that transport on the pipeline is likely to resume within a short time.