Foreign minister: Hungary’s diplomacy meets expectations in 2023

Hungary’s diplomacy met the government’s expectations last year: Hungary managed to stay out of the war in Ukraine and maintained its energy cooperation with Russia, the foreign minister said in a panel discussion at the National Public Service University on Monday.

The foreign ministry quoted Péter Szijjártó as saying that “the government is to ensure that no foreign policy decision, move, or statement should jeopardise Hungary in the midst of the war in the neighbourhood, nor lead to an escalation of that war.”

“Moreover, we must turn every stone so that the war is over as soon as possible and there are as few casualties and as little destruction as possible,” he said. While “Hungary is a good and reliable partner in the European Union and in NATO, we need to maintain a cooperation with Russia that serves national interests,” he added.

Szijjártó said he had been criticised by many for maintaining ties with Russia. He said,

“I am the foreign minister, and in diplomacy, the difficult task is not to meet partners you agree with on important matters but to maintain ties with those whom we do not see eye to eye on some cardinal issues but with whom cooperation serves national interests.”