Hungary's foreign minister has said that the world is witnessing the birth of a new United States since President Trump came into power.
Péter Szijjártó, minister of Foreign Affairs and Trade, said it is “good news” for Hungary and the rest of the world that US President Donald Trump is putting national interests first.
The minister made the remarks during his opening speech at the “Is a New America Coming into Being?” conference organized by the Századvég Foundation.
Minister Szijjártó said that Trump’s new policy “has put an end to an unnatural situation” whereby a state had to “feel ashamed” of putting its own nation first.
Hungary’s prime objective now is to follow suit and protect the country’s interests and “turn changes to our advantage,” he said.
The minister said “we are living in a new world and a new world order”. The last week has been a sobering reminder for everyone that terror threats have moved into the everyday lives of Europeans, he said.
Hungary must take notice that the world has become multipolar, and “there is a chance that fewer botched international political decisions will emerge that leaves unfinished business behind,” he said.
One change that has occurred is that aspirations to create global security are now based on new principles, Minister Szijjártó said. Every country has the right and duty to defend its borders, and no one can be forced to live together with people they do not wish to live together with, he added.
Former US Congressman Connie Mack also addressed the confernece and said that Trump had emphasized in his election campaign the need to protect his country and its borders. The fact that he solicited such a degree of support with this message reflected the frustration of the American society, he added.
“It is people’s fundamental wish to live in security, and Trump provided a response to this wish," he said. The last US presidential election was a historic one, and it is now Trump’s duty to fulfil his promises, he added.
“It is good that there are countries, such as Hungary, who are reacting positively to the changes. Hungarian-American cooperation is excellent, and the two countries share many foreign policy interests," he said.
According to Connie Mack, the task of American diplomacy is not to tell Hungary what to do, but to tighten relations between the two countries, and this is exactly what the new US administration plans on doing.