Sijjarto meets Lavrov in Minsk and criticizes EU for sanctions
During his visit to Minsk, Hungarian Foreign Minister Peter Szijjarto met with Russian Foreign Minister Sergei Lavrov and said that the Druzhba pipeline would remain the main route for importing crude oil to Hungary.
This was reported by Censor.NET with reference to the Voice of America.
Also, during his speech in Belarus, Szijjarto criticized the EU for imposing sanctions against Russia and Belarus, in particular for suppressing the opposition and a full-scale invasion of Ukraine. "We do not accept any restrictions on who we cooperate with. We do not like the policy of sanctions," the minister said.
"The key word today is sovereignty. We, the Hungarians, are committed to our sovereignty. There are certain forces outside our country, there are actors inside our country who want us to give up at least part of our sovereignty. But this will never happen," the Hungarian Foreign Minister said. According to him, Budapest is "very concerned about the conflicts" and wants to maintain contacts and dialogue to resolve them.
According to Szijjártó, the lack of dialogue in the European Union has led to a "less secure and competitive space." "If we don't see fundamental changes in the near future, the world will be divided into blocs again. And this is a nightmare for us, based on the experience we have had."
Szijjártó was the only high-ranking EU official to visit Minsk after the large-scale crackdown on dissent in 2020 and Moscow's use of Belarusian territory to attack Ukraine in 2022.
Hungary currently holds the presidency of the European Council, which represents the EU's national governments.
