Hungary will stick to its peace policy on Ukraine and is pleased that Slovakia is also speaking with the voice of peace, Prime Minister Viktor Orbán said after receiving Peter Pellegrini, the speaker of the National Council of Slovakia, at the prime minister’s office on Monday.
Referring to the Russian-Ukrainian war, Orbán said in a press statement after the meeting that Hungarians are watching with concern what is happening, with hundreds of thousands of people dying, women becoming widows, and hundreds of thousands of children becoming orphans.
“We cannot see where the end of this war is,” he added.
The Hungarian leader insisted that the most important issue today is peace, but at the same time, the whole of Europe is speaking the language of war.
He stressed that he was very pleased that Slovakia, alongside Hungary, was also advocating for peace. He assured his Slovak guests that Hungary would stand by its peace policy and said that he would like them to be able to work together for peace.
“We live in an era of dangers, and in such times good neighborly relations are of the utmost importance,” he said, promising that Hungary will “continue to do its utmost to be a good neighbor to Slovakia.”
In the meeting with the president of the Slovak National Council, the two leaders also discussed sovereignty amid Brussels’ attempts to remove the right of veto and unanimity from the member states on certain issues, including foreign policy. They agreed that in this matter they both consider sovereignty to be critical.
Orbán thanked Slovakia for its help in protecting Hungary’s southern border and recalled that Slovak police officers were sent to Hungary during Peter Pellegrini’s premiership.
“Today, tens or hundreds of thousands of migrants of all kinds are not roaming uncontrolled in Central Europe because we have been helped to protect our southern borders,” Orbán said. He also recalled that they had “fought together” with Slovakia against mandatory quotas on the resettlement of migrants.
“For Hungary and Slovakia, energy freedom is equally important, which is why they also cooperate on energy, including nuclear investments,” the Hungarian leader said.
Orbán recalled that he had the opportunity to work with Peter Pellegrini as prime minister and that during the period of the joint government, “the distance between the two peoples has decreased,” friendship strengthened, and they have found common points on which to build a good neighborly relationship.
