Péter Szijjártó, Minister of Foreign Affairs and Trade, said in an interview published by the Swiss weekly Weltwoche on Wednesday that "Hungary's peace mission is causing huge frustration across Europe."
Europe’s politicians are “jealous” of Prime Minister Viktor Orbán, since “it has become very clear that our prime minister is the only one in Europe who can reach such players of global politics and security” as the presidents of Russia, China, Türkiye, or former US president Donald Trump, Szijjártó said. Leaders of the EU “have made it clear that Hungary is not authorised to represent the EU in those talks”, Szijjártó said, but stressed that Orbán “did not speak in the name of the EU … obviously, we are fully aware that the rotating presidency has nothing to do with a diplomatic representation of the EU”. Orbán made his foreign visits “in his own role, because the European Union is not currently considered an important player in world politics”, the minister said. Orbán, on the other hand, “is one of the prime ministers having served the longest time in his post in Europe, he has broad credibility in the world, and he is revered for his vision of the future and for the courage to promote that vision”, Szijjártó added.