The Hungarian people have made a clear decision to stay out of the conflict in Ukraine, and the country is therefore not at war with anyone, stressed Hungarian Minister of Foreign Affairs and Trade Péter Szijjártó in New York on Thursday.
Szijjártó’s comments follow a statement from his German counterpart, Annalena Baerbock, in which she stated Europe as a whole is fighting a war against Russia.
The German foreign minister told the Council of Europe’s Parliamentary Assembly on Wednesday that it was crucial to “do it together and that we do not do the blame game in Europe, because we are fighting a war against Russia and not against each other.”
[pp id=63816]
Hungary thoroughly rejects the pro-war statements from. the Green party’ foreign minister of Germany.
“We are not at war with anybody, we do not want to be at war with anybody, we want to stay out of this war, and the security of Hungary and the Hungarian people is the most important thing for us,” Szijjártó said in response.
“The Hungarian people are not responsible for this war, the Hungarian people are not to blame for the outbreak of this war, the Hungarian people did not want this war,” he said. “This is not our war, and the Hungarian people made a decision in last year’s parliamentary elections when they made it clear that the most important thing now is for us to stay out of this war.”
Szijjártó explained that almost all of the Hungarian government’s decisions are being taken on that premise, telling reporters the country is seeking “to push for peace talks and a ceasefire, not to supply arms.”
“This is what the Hungarian people’s decision is about, and it is our duty as members of the government to implement the decision of the Hungarian people, to protect their security, to protect the security of Hungary as a whole,” he said.
Responding to a journalist’s question on corruption cases in Ukraine, the minister stressed that one of the foundations of Hungary’s foreign policy strategy is that “we do not get involved in other countries’ affairs.”
“There are already more than enough people here, in America and in Europe, who think that their main task is to tell other countries how to live, to make value judgments about other countries’ internal affairs, to rate other countries,” he added.
