Looking for 'peace': Hungarian Foreign Minister arrives in Belarus
Peter Szijjarto, Hungarian Foreign Minister (facebook.com/szijjarto.peter.official)
Hungarian Minister of Foreign Affairs Péter Szijjártó has arrived in the capital of Belarus, Minsk. There, he will participate in a conference on Eurasian security scheduled for October 26-27, according to the Hungarian Foreign Minister and the Belarusian news agency BELTA.
Minister Szijjártó affirms that Budapest is seeking "peace" and, for this purpose, it is necessary to maintain communication channels. He shared photos from his visit to Minsk on his social media account, stating, "We want peace, and for that, we need to maintain communication channels."
The Hungarian Foreign Minister has already met with his Belarusian counterpart, Sergei Aleinik.
According to Belarusian state media, Szijjártó will take part in the high-level international conference titled "Eurasian Security: Reality and Prospects in a Transforming World."
It is expected that the Hungarian Minister will speak today during the plenary session of the conference.
Among the participants of this meeting are also the Russian Foreign Minister, Sergey Lavrov, the Secretary-General of the Collective Security Treaty Organization (CSTO), Imangali Tasmagambetov, the Deputy Secretary-General of the Shanghai Cooperation Organization (SCO), Grigory Logvinov, and the Secretary-General of the Union State of Russia and Belarus, Dmitry Mezentsev.
Hungary's stance
Hungary has opposed many EU initiatives regarding support for Ukraine in countering Moscow's aggression and receives a significant portion of its crude oil and gas from Russia.
Budapest has been cultivating closer ties with Russia compared to other EU member states and is seen as a key potential opponent to the decision to begin accession negotiations between Ukraine and the EU, which would require unanimous support from all 27 bloc members.
On October 17, Hungarian Prime Minister Viktor Orban met with Russian leader Vladimir Putin during the One Belt, One Road forum in Beijing. They reaffirmed their commitment to bilateral relations against the backdrop of the conflict in Ukraine. During the meeting, Orban referred to Russia's actions against Ukraine as a "military operation" and shook hands with the Russian leader, drawing a sharp response from Ukraine's Foreign Minister, Dmytro Kuleba.
It's worth mentioning that Minister Szijjártó visited Minsk in February despite Belarus's involvement in the Russia-Ukraine conflict. Subsequently, the Ukrainian Defense Minister commented on such visits, stating that some politicians continue to live in a parallel universe.
