EU nation vows to defy Western ‘blackmail’

The Hungarian foreign minister complains of being “stigmatized” for seeking an end to the Ukraine conflict

Hungary will continue to insist on a peaceful settlement of the Ukraine conflict as soon as possible despite Western pressure to change its stance, Foreign Minister Peter Szijjarto has said.

In an interview with the Russian business daily RBK on Monday, Szijjarto acknowledged that not all of Budapest’s partners appreciate its calls to end hostilities between Moscow and Kiev. Hungary has consistently refused to send arms to Ukraine, called for an immediate ceasefire, and criticized Western sanctions against Russia as ineffective and self-defeating.

“When I present a position for peace, I get stigmatized, they say that I am pro-Russian, pro-[President Vladimir] Putin, that I am almost a Russian spy, that I am a Kremlin propagandist,” Szijjarto said, as translated into Russian.

The foreign minister also noted that “the intellectual level of the debate [on resolving the Ukraine conflict] is not very high,” explaining that Hungary has seen “only stigmatization,” and no counterarguments in response to its stance.

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“This does not help solve the problem… We are going to continue to defend our position. We will have to face very strong pressure, sometimes even blackmail. We face demands to change our position, but we are not ready to do so also because this is the will of the Hungarian people.”

Szijjarto lamented that the EU has mostly descended into warmongering, noting that Hungary and Slovakia have ended up “in an absolute minority” regarding their stance on Ukraine.

“The issue here is not what we think about the war, but what we think about how peace could be achieved in the shortest and fastest way... We believe that the more weapons are supplied, the longer the conflict will last. We do not see any solution on the battlefield, only at the negotiating table,” he concluded.

Szijjarto traveled to Russia last week to meet with Aleksey Miller, the head of energy giant Gazprom, to discuss natural gas exports to Hungary, which is heavily dependent on Russian supplies. While regretting that many in the West view energy cooperation with Russia as a political controversy, the foreign minister noted that agreements with Moscow have guaranteed sustainable gas deliveries to Hungary.