Hungarian foreign minister: the EU should contact President Bashar al-Assad

Lebanon is key to maintaining stability and avoiding escalation in the Middle East, and the EU and the international community should do everything in their power to keep it out of the war, the minister of foreign affairs and trade said after meeting with his Lebanese counterpart, Abdallah Bou Habib, in Budapest on Friday. He also said that the EU should contact Bassar al-Assad or his government to end the refugee crisis and restore security.

The war in Ukraine and the danger of the Middle Eastern conflict spreading to other countries are presenting grave challenges to Europe, Peter Szijjarto told a joint press conference.

“We know perfectly well that if the security crisis in the Middle East spreads to one more country, it won’t stop at its borders but widen into a regional or even greater war,” he said.

That would put Europe in a dire security situation, “those still hanging on to the reins would then lose all control,” he said.

Lebanon is a key ally in that fight, and Hungary is urging the EU to pay the 15 million euros earmarked for the country in the European Peace Facility. “We would finally spend the Peace Facility on peace,” he said.

He said he hoped that all parties would now adhere to bilateral and international decisions.

The 180,000 internally displaced people in southern Lebanon and northern Israel should be enabled to return home as soon as possible, he said.

Foreign minister Szijjártó: the EU should contact Bashar al-Assad or his government

Lebanon’s stability is also key to containing illegal migration, as it is currently housing more than 1.5 million refugees, he said. “Should Lebanon not take care of those people … they would almost certainly leave for Europe. And we all know the effect they would have on Europe’s stability and future.”