Hungary has firmly condemned the attempted coup d’état in Turkey over the weekend.
Péter Szijjártó, minister of Foreign Affairs and Trade, has said that the manner in which it was committed and the number of victims was "an act of terrorism”.
He said that an event like this should not affect the relationship between Turkey and the European Union as Europe has a vested interest in Turkey remaining a stable state.
"If possible, we must render our ties with Turkey’s democratically elected president and government even closer now," he said, adding that the current president and government are the “pledge of stability”.
Turkey is Hungary’s friend and a strategic ally. Hungary stands in solidarity with the democratically elected government in Turkey and with the Turkish president, too, he said.
Minister Szijjártó added that he had spoken with his Turkish counterpart, Mevlüt Çavuşoĝlu, on the telephone in the morning and was told that the Turkish government and central powers have taken back control and are “in charge of the situation”.
A well-organized but rogue part of the army carried out the attempted coup and tried to take over power, Çavuşoĝlu told Szijjártó. Szijjártó said there had been shots fired in the street next to the Hungarian embassy in Ankara, but they were not directed at the embassy building or its staff.
There are currently 175 Hungarian citizens in Turkey and Szijjártó requested the Hungarians who are currently staying there not to leave their accommodation in Istanbul or Ankara if not absolutely necessary, and to register via the ministry’s consular line.
The consular services will take calls around the clock for several more days, Minister Szijjártó added. There is relative calm in the seaside holiday areas in Turkey, and chartered flights are also operational.
Szijjártó highlighted that Hungary is not changing Turkey’s travel rating. He concluded that if air travel is not fully restored, they are able to help Hungarians with the rebooking of their flights.