Hungarian FM: World must do everything possible to prevent Middle East escalation

The international community must do everything possible to prevent the escalation of the armed conflict in the Middle East, Foreign Minister Péter Szijjártó said in Beirut on Thursday, arguing that a war between Israel and Lebanon would mean a regional war.

The threat of an escalation of the conflict in the Middle East is “a major concern of ours in Hungary”, Szijjártó told a joint press conference with his Lebanese counterpart, Abdallah Bou Habib, according to a ministry statement.

“The whole international community has a huge responsibility in this” and it must “do its best” to prevent an escalation, the minister said.

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He warned of the threat of a regional war or an even wider conflict if just one other country joined the fighting, saying it was therefore vital to avoid a war between Israel and Lebanon.

“We all know that Lebanon doesn’t want a war, we understand that the Lebanese people don’t want war . and we all know that the Lebanese government does not want war, either,” Szijjártó said.

He said the international community should therefore support Beirut in its efforts to prevent a war.

Szijjártó said that hopefully the international community understood the importance of avoiding such a conflict and would mobilise its capacities in the interest of preventing an escalation in the region.

Source: MTI