The ministry cited Szijjarto as saying after talks with Secretary of State Marco Rubio that they had discussed bilateral economic cooperation and reviewed measures introduced in the last weeks and days of the previous, Biden administration that were "created clearly with the intention of political revenge, in order to harm Hungary and later harm future Hungary-US relations".

"There are measures involving sanctions that affect Hungary's energy security in the areas of natural gas acquisition and also nuclear energy, but there is also the sanction against Minister [of the Prime Minister's Cabinet Office Antal] Rogan,"he added.

"We have launched the necessary legal procedures concerning all three issues and the secretary of state assured us of absolute openness regarding leaving behind us these revenge measures as soon as possible," the foreign minister said.

Szijjarto said they had also discussed cooperation in investment and emphasised that it also violated the interests of US companies offering jobs to more than a hundred thousand people in Hungary that the Biden administration had cancelled the agreement on avoiding double taxation.

He added that the decision had been in response to Hungary refusing to join the pack in connection with the global minimum tax, which is also opposed by Donald Trump.

"My US counterpart also registered the importance of again signing and reintroducing the agreement on avoiding double taxation," he said.

Szijjarto welcomed the fact that it was once again confirmed that the US administration considered the Hungarian government a friend, and considered developing bilateral relations important.

"It is a cooperation based on friendship and absolute mutual respect, which can be extremely successful in the upcoming period,"he said.

Szijjarto holds talks with US Secretary of State Marco Rubio

The US government maintains the position despite all conflicts and difficulties that the war in Ukraine must not continue, which is good news for Hungary, Foreign Minister Peter Szijjarto said after talks with US counterpart Marco Rubio in Washington, DC.

In a statement, the foreign ministry cited Szijjarto as saying after the meeting that Rubio had insisted that peace talks had offered the only realistic chance for bringing an end to the killing. "I told the secretary of state that Hungary fully supported the efforts of the US president and his administration," he added.

"We were also in agreement that repeated statements about having to continue the war as long as possible was not a strategy and was also a dangerous position because the longer the war continues in our neighbourhood, the greater the danger of escalation," he said.

"The secretary of state informed me that the US has temporarily suspended military support to Ukraine. And I informed him that in Europe, especially in its western part, there was some scheming under way against Donald Trump and his peace plan," he added.

Commenting on this week's EU summit, he said Hungary would not approve any decision that carries the danger of the war's continuation.

"We are also absolutely dedicated to promoting peace and peace talks," Szijjarto said.

Szijjarto said there was excellent cooperation between Hungary and the US within the UN, adding that Hungary had been the only member state to support the US peace resolution.

"They have of course frowned upon us but endlessly repeating who is at fault and who is the aggressor will not help. It has been happening for three years and has not helped. Something new is needed, peace talks are required, and this is exactly why we supported the US peace resolution in the UN, which was then also approved by the Security Council," he added.

He said they were in agreement that "it was a wrong and unfair" approach that those who stand up for peace get immediately accused of being supporters of Russia.

"The most we can do to help in this regard is to strengthen the peace camp’s voice by speaking with the voice of common sense in international politics, and assure the US-Russian negotiations of our continued support," the foreign minister said.

"If the Americans and Russians did not try to bring these negotiations to success, the war would most certainly continue, and the risk of an even greater tragedy would increase," he added.

Szijjarto expressed thanks for the US terminating the payment of USAID funding. Those funds he said had served as a basis for the US foreign policy aimed at "interfering with the internal affairs of other states, a policy that made the world suffer for four years under the previous US Democrat administration".

"I think a significant part of the world has breathed a sigh of relief," the foreign minister said.

Szijjarto noted that he was accompanied at his visit by the recently appointed government commissioner for investigating the use of USAID funds in Hungary. "The commissioner will hold several talks here in the US to reveal by whom and in what way those funds aimed at interference had been used," he said.

Szijjarto: Serious scheming against Donald Trump in western part of Europe

There is some serious scheming under way against Donald Trump in the western part of Europe but the continuation of pro-war politics would cause serious damage to the continent therefore the Hungarian government which has been pursuing the same policies as the current US president for fifteen years, stands resolutely against it, the foreign minister said.

The ministry cited Peter Szijjarto saying before talks with US counterpart Marco Rubio that Hungary had been pursuing anti-migration, pro-family, pro-peace, conservative and patriotic policies focusing on enforcing national interests for fifteen years, the same as what Trump has promised to the US. "So, we have been Trump for fifteen years,"he added.

Szijjarto also said that Hungary had been living in the shadow of the war in Ukraine for three years and suffered its dramatic consequences."So if there is any country that has a vested interest in the success of Donald Trump, in the success of the current US government, if there is any country that has a vested interest in the success of a US-Russia agreement ... it is us," he added.

"At the same time, it is obvious that there is some serious scheming under way against Donald Trump in the western part of Europe. It is of course also against peace, but the war is only an excuse for the scheming against Donald Trump," he said.

Szijjarto said that the countries involved had held their latest meeting in London on Sunday, where they decided that "Ukraine must continue the war".

"This is very bad, this is very dangerous and it is a huge mistake because if the war continues, more people will die, the destruction will be even greater, and the danger of escalation will persist," he added.

At the same time, he said it was good news that contrary to the earlier situation, only Brussels wanted the war to continue and not Washington, adding that "so it is much easier for Hungary to stay out of the conflict".

"The war has resulted in very many bad developments. We all feel the economic consequences, the increase in prices, the effects of sanctions in energy prices, and so on. So the war has resulted in very many bad developments, but as soon as the war is over, all of them will also go away," he said.

Szijjarto said that "pro-war Europeans are making great efforts to break Donald Trump's efforts, and if they do not manage, they will themselves continue to finance further fighting".

He added that in view of the continent's economic condition and military capacities, it was unrealistic that Europe would be able to manage this without dramatically harming its own interests.

"I think that if Europe stays on this path and the European pro-war politicians continue this policy, it will cause shocking damage to Europe," he said.

"European people surely want peace. The question is when the liberal, pro-war European leaders understand what the people want," he added.

Szijjarto said a "golden age" had arrived in Hungarian-US relations, with relations between the two governments based on "the greatest trust possible" which is well represented by the fact that two weeks ago, following the US-Russia talks in Saudi Arabia, a US Senior Bureau Official for the Bureau of European and Eurasian Affairs visited Budapest to offer a briefing about the event.

The foreign minister also said that several large US investments had been announced in recent weeks, so bilateral economic cooperation was also facing a "golden age".

"I hope we can review now all the issues that resulted from decisions made by the Biden administration by way of political revenge," he said.

Szijjarto: Contact continuous between US, Hungary

The US administration and the Hungarian government are in constant contact at all levels, the minister of foreign affairs and trade said in Budapest on Monday, responding to questions at a press conference on another subject.

Peter Szijjarto said the most important topic currently was "brokering peace in Ukraine". Prime Minister Viktor Orban has talked with US President Donald Trump, and this week there will be further high-level talks between the US president's administration and the Hungarian government, he said.

"It seems that several European leaders are trying to throw a wrench into Donald Trump's peace efforts," he said, adding that Hungary fully supported the latter."We know very well that a US-Russia agreement is the only way to find peace in the region, and we will participate in European debates of the coming period accordingly," he said.

Regarding next week's European summit, Szijjarto said there was a "strategic difference" between pro-war and pro-peace players "that cannot be bridged by tricks of communication or wording". Orban had therefore proposed that the summit forego even proposing a closing declaration because there would be no agreement, he said.

"We want the war to end, while the others -- or most of them -- want to prolong it... There is no common ground between the two. If they want a debate on that, the result will be that Europe will project the image of a divided entity. We think this would best avoided," he said.

Regarding the London summit on Sunday, Szijjarto said Hungary "has no business at the talks of pro-war" players. "We don't want to prolong the war ... we want to end it. We don't need to be at talks where they decide to prolong it..."

Asked about the extension of sanctions against Russian individuals, Szijjarto said it was the European Commission's turn to act. He said the EC had made guarantees regarding the Hungarian energy security in relation to Ukraine on four points, and they had already breached two.

He said he had written a letter to the EU's foreign and security chief, asking whether those guarantees were still seen as valid.

"I'll wait for an answer and then make a decision. We still have a little time until March 10, the deadline for the decision on extending sanctions..." he said.
 

Source: 
MTI - The Hungarian News Agency, founded in 1881.

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