After meeting his Slovak counterpart, Peter Pellegrini, in Budapest on Thursday, President Tamás Sulyok said bilateral dialogue between Hungary and Slovakia should not only be maintained but strengthened so the two countries could serve their individual and joint interests even better.
President Sulyok told a joint press conference that he and Pellegrini had reviewed several areas “with a view of strengthening the [two countries’] strategic partnership”. Regarding Hungary’s European Council presidency, Sulyok said he had asked for Pellegrini’s support for Hungary’s role as a “fair mediator” in issues such as curbing illegal migration, boosting European defence policy, an agricultural policy focusing on farmers, and “real solutions” to demographic challenges. He said the two countries’ approach to enlargement was identical, calling for speeding up the accession process of the Western Balkans countries. He added that he had told Pellegrini that it was well worth maintaining smaller groupings based on good dialogue and cooperation within the larger framework of the EU, “a larger alliance and framework of adaptation”. Sulyok said he supported the Visegrad initiative and expressed hope that the community could develop into an even stronger, European engine at the Polish summit during the winter. In his capacity as the commander of the Hungarian army, he said the continual developments of the Hungarian army would further contribute to carrying out joint air policing tasks. He said he had also told Pellegrini at a one-on-one meeting that Hungary opposed all types of aggression. “Human dignity is inviolable, it must be respected, the respect must be enforced, and it must be protected,” he added. He said they had also discussed the situation of ethnic minorities and were in agreement that it served the interests of both sides to support coexistence. He expressed hope that the ethnic Hungarian advisor to the Slovak president would further elevate this. Hungary will make every effort to ensure that significant support is provided for the ethnic Slovak community in Hungary, he said.