Latest news with #Szijjártó
Budapest Times
2 days ago
- Politics
- Budapest Times
FM: Israel is Hungary's friend and strategic ally
Péter Szijjártó, Minister of Foreign Affairs and Trade, said Israel is Hungary's friend and strategic ally. Speaking in Jerusalem on Wednesday, Minister Szijjártó said the Jewish state could continue to rely on Hungary in the international arena. 'We are aware that central Europe's security is closely linked to security in the Middle East, therefore, we have a vested interest in stability in that region,' Minister Szijjártó said during talks with Gideon Saar, his Israeli counterpart, according to a ministry statement. Referring to an increasing threat of terrorism worldwide, Minister Szijjártó expressed Hungary's firm support for the fight against terrorism, saying, 'we most firmly condemn Hamas, and demand that its hostages be released.' He also regretted that a Hungarian national was still among the hostages held by Hamas. 'We hope the international community will increase its pressure on Hamas to release all the hostages,' he said. Meanwhile, Minister Szijjártó said the Hungarian government 'firmly rejected' international efforts against Israel, such as the suspension of the European Union-Israel Association Council and sanctions against Israeli nationals. The minister welcomed the development of bilateral economic ties, with special regard to the areas of IT, the defence industry, medical technology and food production. Concerning talks with Knesset Speaker Amir Ohana earlier in the day, Minister Szijjártó said they had agreed that 'the EU's fine imposed on Hungary for not allowing illegal migrants to enter is a good investment in Hungary's future and security.' 'There are some issues on which you cannot compromise and in some cases not even a fine will deter us; Hungary's security, calm, and identity must be preserved, and it can only be accomplished if we do not let illegal migrants in,' Minister Szijjártó said.
Budapest Times
2 days ago
- Politics
- Budapest Times
Szijjártó: Hungary is one of the safest places in Europe today
Péter Szijjártó, Minister of Foreign Affairs and Trade, said Hungary is one of the safest places in Europe today, thanks to the Hungarian government's determined defense against illegal migration, 'even if it has to pay a one million euro daily fine to Brussels for it.' Speaking at a ministerial-level panel discussion at the International Conference on Combatting Antisemitism in Jerusalem, Minister Szijjártó said modern-day anti-Semitism was especially prevalent in Western Europe, mainly due to mass illegal migration. 'We in Hungary have a zero-tolerance policy against anti-Semitism. Hungary is one of the safest places in Europe today, in general as well as specifically for Jewish communities,' he said. Hungary also has the largest Jewish community in Central Europe, he added. 'Hungary has no migrants, we don't allow illegal migrants into the country… No matter the pressure from Brussels, we will keep Hungary one of the safest countries in Europe,' he added. 'Demonstrations glorifying terrorist organisations are unimaginable and prohibited in Hungary. There is no need for armed security guards at Jewish events in Hungary…' Minister Szijjártó said. Minister Szijjártó said the world was facing 'enormous security challenges, one of them being constantly growing terrorism.' It is a duty of the international community to ensure that 'horrible things like those that took place in Israel on October 7, 2023, will never happen again.' He condemned 'certain [players] in international politics fundamentally questioning Israel's right to self-defense, trying to relativise the most horrific terror attack in world history.' World politics was plagued by an anti-Israel stance, and 'unbalanced, biased statements against the Jewish state' were regularly voiced in international organizations, he said. Minister Szijjártó pointed to the International Criminal Court as an example, which he said had made 'a clearly politically motivated decision' when it issued an arrest warrant against Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu. The ICC 'has become a political organisation and has lost all seriousness,' so Hungary decided to withdraw from it, Minister Szijjártó said. 'We are proud to be a strategic ally and friend of Israel. Israel can always count on Hungary when it comes to combating anti-Semitism, or anti-Israel sentiments in international politics,' Minister Szijjártó said.
Budapest Times
4 days ago
- Business
- Budapest Times
FM: Banning Russian energy would have tragic consequences for Europe
Péter Szijjártó, Minister of Foreign Affairs and Trade, said on Monday that banning the purchase of nuclear fuel elements from Russia 'would have tragic consequences not only for Hungary but for the whole of the European energy market, too', adding that prices would sky-rocket and have a deleterious effect on Europe's economy. Minister Szijjártó said electricity in Europe costs 2-3 times as much as it does in US or China, while gas is around 4 times as expensive. 'Obviously you can't build a competitive economy this way,' he added in a ministry statement. 'But there's still a chance to prevent these Brussels plans' by responding to the government's Vote 2025 survey on the question of Ukraine's EU accession, he said. 'It's time to stop this Brussels plan to support Ukraine while increasing the utility bills of Hungarian families several times over,' he added. The minister noted that several central European countries have nuclear plants that use Russian technology and operate exclusively with Russian-made fuel elements.
Budapest Times
5 days ago
- Business
- Budapest Times
FM: Hungary-Serbia pipeline to start soon and Budapest-Belgrade rail line to finish by end of year
Péter Szijjártó, Minister of Foreign Affairs and Trade, said the construction of a crude pipeline running between Hungary and Serbia will start soon. Speaking in Belgrade on Friday, Minister Szijjártó said the pipeline, including a 180km-190km stretch in Hungary, would be completed by 2027, ensuring fuel supply for Serbia and the region. He added that Hungary and Serbia would double interconnector capacity between their electricity grids by 2028. Minister Szijjártó noted that a number of countries in Central Europe were getting their gas delivered via Serbia after Ukraine stopped forwarding Russian gas to Europe. Hungary is getting around 7.5 billion cubic metres of gas a year via Serbia, he added. The foreign minister added that the upgrade of the Budapest-Belgrade rail line will be completed by the end of 2025. Minister Szijjártó said the sides were working to reach an agreement on conducting customs and border checks while trains were en route, cutting travel time. He added that the project was an 'extraordinarily important and successful' cooperation.
Budapest Times
23-05-2025
- Politics
- Budapest Times
FM: Remarks by Ukrainian agent expelled from Hungary are unacceptable
Péter Szijjártó, Minister of Foreign Affairs and Trade, said in Budapest on Wednesday that the remarks of Roland Tseber, 'the Ukrainian agent expelled from Hungary', where he called the ruling Fidesz party 'cornered rats', are 'unacceptable'. Responding to questions at a press conference after the meeting of the Organisation of Turkic States in Budapest, Minister Szijjártó said the activity of Ukrainian spies and secret services had picked up lately, 'even as Kyiv's anti-Hungarian propaganda is becoming increasingly aggressive.' 'We are responding with the tools at our disposal … we shall protect Hungary's sovereignty and honour,' he said. 'The atrocious post on social media, by a man whom the leader of the Tisza party has called his brother, fits into the line of that string of espionage and secret service activity,' Minister Szijjártó said. 'It's a threat and will have to be taken seriously. I think it is a shame that the Hungarian member of the European People's Party, the Tisza party and its leader are cooperating with a man like that.' Commenting on Hungary's transparency law, Minister Szijjártó said the European Parliament 'should rather be concerned with attempts of grievous external influence into the domestic affairs of Hungary, an EU member state.' 'We are not going to suffer assaults on our sovereignty from foreign-financed people conducting foreign-financed activities, trying to influence Hungarian voters' will and Hungarians' opinion, or — heaven forbid — the result of the elections.' Minister Szijjártó insisted that a similar foreign influence had been detected during the 2022 elections, 'and those behind it then have obviously started working again. They clearly want to discredit Hungarians' opinion on Ukraine's EU membership, and influence Hungarian voters' will at the next elections,' he said. 'We would like to put everyone's mind at ease. We will protect our sovereignty, put the transparency act through, and prevent attempts by foreign-funded agents, organisations and people to influence Hungarians' opinions…' he said.
