Hungary joins Global Peace Summit in Switzerland – FM Szijjarto
Hungary will participate in the peace summit in Switzerland on June 15–16, with the Minister of Foreign Affairs representing the country at the event.
The Minister of Foreign Affairs of Hungary, Peter Szijjarto, announced this.
"The reason for our participation is that we are absolutely on the side of peace, and therefore, we participate in all events where peace is on the agenda," the Hungarian minister said.
In answer to the journalist's question, he said that Hungary would be represented at the conference at the Minister of Foreign Affairs level.
"We respect Switzerland's peace efforts; we will participate at the level of the Minister of Foreign Affairs," he added, noting that it is always helpful to talk about peace.
At the same time, he spoke about the absence of Russia at the summit.
"We believe that real results can be expected if everyone is at the negotiating table," he stated.
It should be noted that a few days ago, Szijjarto reported that Hungary has not yet decided whether to participate in the Global Peace Summit in Switzerland. Hungary does not consider the war in Ukraine "its own," and both sides of the conflict will not be present at the meeting.
The minister noted that Hungary "respects Swiss efforts to achieve peace," but "at the same time, the question is whether a peace conference makes sense if there are no parties to the war."
"If both sides of the war are not represented, I think it is a legitimate question whether the whole conference makes sense from the point of view of the ultimate goal, which is the pursuit of peace. Therefore, we believe that a peace conference makes real sense and offers the greatest hope for peace if both sides sit at the table," Szijjarto said.
The head of the Hungarian Foreign Ministry also noted that Western and other Europeans tend to consider the war in Ukraine their war and that "they are also at war with Russia." He emphasized that Budapest has a different opinion.
"Russia did not attack us. We are not in a state of war. Ukraine is not fighting for us. It would be a different situation if we were attacked, but we were not attacked, just like the other states of the European Union. The NATO Secretary General spoke very clearly, stating that none of the allies of the alliance were under military threat. So if we are not under military threat, why do we think this is our war?" Szijjarto noted.
For reference:
It should be noted that Hungary and Ukraine have had almost no high-level contacts since the full-scale invasion of Russia in February 2022. However, there have been some lower-level interactions.
Earlier, Zelensky said that during a short meeting in Argentina, he asked Orban to name at least one reason why Ukraine should not be in the EU.
Moreover, the Hungarian leader also stated that he has 75 more opportunities to block Ukraine's accession process, as each stage requires the unanimous approval of EU members.
It is worth noting that the EU approved the allocation of 10 billion euros to Hungary. However, any further allocation of funds will likely be met with stiff resistance. The other €20 billion, which belongs to Hungary, is held under a separate procedure that gives Brussels the leverage it needs.
