Budapest Post

Cum Deo pro Patria et Libertate
Budapest, Europe and world news

Hungarian model: being a member of the EU and NATO do not rule out good relations with Russia

Hungarian model: being a member of the EU and NATO do not rule out good relations with Russia

Dialogue is now more important than ever, and this means speaking to others besides just the Western media, Foreign Minister Péter Szijjártó said on Facebook on Saturday, where he shared an interview he had given to Russian news channel Izvestia.

In the interview, Szijjártó said the Hungarian model had proven “very clearly” that being a member of the European Union and NATO did not rule out good relations with Russia. The minister expressed hope that this position would be supported by other countries’ ties with Russia as well.

Szijjártó said he saw no need for Hungary to mediate dialogue between Russia and the West, arguing that Russian President Vladimir Putin had spoken twice with both US President Joe Biden and French President Emmanuel Macron in recent days. He noted that Russian Foreign Minister Sergei Lavrov was set to have talks with US Secretary of State Antony Blinken and British Prime Minister Boris Johnson was also preparing to speak with Putin.

“It seems to me that a wave of dialogue has been launched, and this is the best possible news we can get,”


he said. “Because for us central Europeans — we’re not a big country in central Europe, for sure — it is our core national interest . to have a pragmatic and a civilised relationship between East and West.”

Asked about Hungary’s attitude towards Russian proposals against NATO’s eastward expansion, Szijjártó said Hungary understood them.

Szijjártó said that hopefully the issue could be resolved because “if you base your relationship on mutual respect then there’s no obstacle, basically”.

Asked about reports that the UK and the US were sending 1,000 troops to central Europe, mainly to Romania, Bulgaria and Hungary, Szijjártó said he was not aware of the situation in the other countries, but the report was untrue in the case of Hungary.

“We have NATO forces on our soil, which is the Hungarian army,”


Szijjártó said. “The Hungarian army is a NATO army. And according to the current situation, the Hungarian army is in appropriate shape to protect the country. So we don’t need external forces on our soil.”

As a NATO member, however, Hungary is constantly cooperating with other member states, the minister said. Hungary has agreements in place on training missions and exchange programmes, “but nothing out of this normally ongoing cooperation takes place”, he added.

Commenting on an announcement by Croatia that it would not get involved in a potential war in Ukraine, Szijjarto said Hungary had learned its lesson from history that central Europe tended to lose out in conflicts between East and West.

“That’s why instead of making theories for some unprecedented events, we’d rather ask everybody to cool down the tension,” he said, adding that countries should “use the toolkit of diplomacy”.

Hungary does not want to see a return to the Cold War, he said, adding that the best way to avoid it was “civilised, pragmatic, trust and respect-based dialogue”.


Asked about the situation of the Hungarian minority in Ukraine, Szijjártó called it a “tough issue”. There are some 150,000 ethnic Hungarians living in western Ukraine, he noted. “They are not migrants. This is a community which is indigenous. This community has been living there for centuries,” he said.

Szijjártó said the rights of the Hungarian minority in Ukraine were being constantly violated since 2016, with the government infringing on ethnic Hungarians’ right to use their mother tongue in education, public administration, the media and culture.

Every now and then new proposals are submitted to the Ukrainian parliament on further restrictions to minority rights, he said. “And this is something that we cannot accept.”

Szijjártó said

"Hungary was not serving Russia’s interests by protecting the rights of the Hungarian minority in Ukraine. “And our national community must get back the rights which have been taken away from them,” Szijjártó said."

AI Disclaimer: An advanced artificial intelligence (AI) system generated the content of this page on its own. This innovative technology conducts extensive research from a variety of reliable sources, performs rigorous fact-checking and verification, cleans up and balances biased or manipulated content, and presents a minimal factual summary that is just enough yet essential for you to function as an informed and educated citizen. Please keep in mind, however, that this system is an evolving technology, and as a result, the article may contain accidental inaccuracies or errors. We urge you to help us improve our site by reporting any inaccuracies you find using the "Contact Us" link at the bottom of this page. Your helpful feedback helps us improve our system and deliver more precise content. When you find an article of interest here, please look for the full and extensive coverage of this topic in traditional news sources, as they are written by professional journalists that we try to support, not replace. We appreciate your understanding and assistance.
Newsletter

Related Articles

0:00
0:00
Close
IMF Upgrades Global Growth Forecast as Weaker Dollar Supports Outlook
House Republicans Move to Defund OECD Over Global Tax Dispute
France Opens Criminal Investigation into X Over Algorithm Manipulation Allegations
Trump Steamrolls EU in Landmark Trade Win: US–EU Trade Deal Imposes 15% Tariff on European Imports
ChatGPT CEO Sam Altman says people share personal info with ChatGPT but don’t know chats can be used as court evidence in legal cases.
Intel Reports Revenue Beats but Sees 81% Rise in Losses
Politics is a good business: Barack Obama’s Reported Net Worth Growth, 1990–2025
UN's Top Court Declares Environmental Protection a Legal Obligation Under International Law
"Crazy Thing": OpenAI's Sam Altman Warns Of AI Voice Fraud Crisis In Banking
The Podcaster Who Accidentally Revealed He Earns Over $10 Million a Year
UK Government Considers Dropping Demand for Apple Encryption Backdoor
Japanese Man Discovers Family Connection Through DNA Testing After Decades of Separation
Russia Signals Openness to Ukraine Peace Talks Amid Escalating Drone Warfare
Switzerland Implements Ban on Mammography Screening
Pogacar Extends Dominance with Stage Fifteen Triumph at Tour de France
President Trump Diagnosed with Chronic Venous Insufficiency After Leg Swelling
CEO Resigns Amid Controversy Over Relationship with HR Executive
NVIDIA Achieves $4 Trillion Valuation Amid AI Demand
Tulsi Gabbard Unveils Evidence Alleging Political Manipulation of Intelligence During Trump Administration
Centrist Criticism of von der Leyen Resurfaces as she Survives EU Confidence Vote
Trump Announces Coca-Cola to Shift to Cane Sugar in U.S. Production
FIFA Pressured to Rethink World Cup Calendar Due to Climate Change
Zelensky Reshuffles Cabinet to Win Support at Home and in Washington
"Can You Hit Moscow?" Trump Asked Zelensky To Make Putin "Feel The Pain"
Church of England Removes 1991 Sexuality Guidelines from Clergy Selection
Superman Franchise Achieves Success with Latest Release
Hungary's Viktor Orban Rejects Agreements on Illegal Migration
Air India Pilot’s Mental Health Records Under Scrutiny
Jamie Dimon Warns Europe Is Losing Global Competitiveness and Flags Market Complacency
Moonshot AI Unveils Kimi K2: A New Open-Source AI Model
Martha Wells Says Humanity Still Far from True Artificial Intelligence
Nvidia Becomes World’s First Four‑Trillion‑Dollar Company Amid AI Boom
EU Delays Retaliatory Tariffs Amid New U.S. Threats on Imports
Trump Proposes Supplying Arms to Ukraine Through NATO Allies
US Opens First Rare Earth Mine in Over 70 Years in Wyoming
Bitcoin Reaches New Milestone of $116,000
Severe Heatwave Claims 2,300 Lives Across Europe
Declining Beer Consumption Signals Cultural Shift in Germany
Emails Leaked: How Passenger Luggage Became a Side Income for Airport Workers
Polish MEP: “Dear Leftists - China is laughing at you, Russia is laughing, India is laughing”
Western Europe Records Hottest June on Record
BRICS Expands Membership with Indonesia and Ten New Partner Countries
Elon Musk Founds a Party Following a Poll on X: "You Wanted It – You Got It!"
China’s Central Bank Consults European Peers on Low-Rate Strategies
France Requests Airlines to Cut Flights at Paris Airports Amid Planned Air Traffic Controller Strike
Poland Implements Border Checks Amid Growing Migration Tensions
Emirates Airline Expands Market Share with New $20 Million Campaign
Amazon Reaches Milestone with Deployment of One Millionth Robot
Yulia Putintseva Calls for Spectator Ejection at Wimbledon Over Safety Concerns
House Oversight Committee Subpoenas Former Jill Biden Aide Amid Investigation into Alleged Concealment of President Biden's Cognitive Health
×