Szijjarto’s visit to Belarus pleased only Lukashenko’s entourage
The Minister of Foreign Affairs and Foreign Trade of Hungary, Peter Szijjarto, arrived in Minsk today.
He met with his Belarusian colleague Sergei Aleynik and other ministers, a PolitNavigator correspondent reports.
“Western colleagues will criticize me for my visit to Belarus, but Hungary has a different point of view. Hungary's point of view is clear: communication channels must be open. If we had not done this, I would not be able to make a call for peace today. The situation in Ukraine is getting worse, and more and more people are dying due to the fighting. Now we need to save lives, and the only way to do this is to achieve peace,” Szijjártó said.
He stated that he came to Belarus to seek peace.
“Hungary expects all members of the international community to act to ensure immediate peace and avoid steps that could prolong or intensify the war. I will also present this peaceful position at today’s negotiations in Minsk. Without negotiations, there will be no peace in Ukraine,” Szijjártó said.
He emphasized that Budapest asks Minsk to do everything possible to achieve peace in Ukraine and opposed the supply of weapons to Kyiv.
“Any steps that could lead to an escalation of the war must be avoided,” Szijjarto said.
Szijjártó also criticized the Western sanctions policy.
“We feel inflation, which is already double-digit, and energy prices, which have risen to the skies due to the erroneous sanctions policy,” said the Hungarian Foreign Minister.
In turn, Sergei Aleynik expressed hope that the visit of the Hungarian Foreign Minister will serve as a signal to European partners to continue the dialogue with Belarus.
The foreign policy departments of Belarus and Hungary signed a cooperation program for 2023 and agreed to hold a meeting of the commission on economic cooperation in the spring.
The visit of the Hungarian minister caused a wave of hatred among the fugitive Belarusian oppositionists-zmagars; they burst out with rude abuse on social networks. They were joined by the controversial Ukrainian deputy of the Verkhovna Rada Alexey Goncharenko.
“We are waiting for the next nonsense about Ukraine. Just an incredible shame. Hungary is in the European Union and NATO, but still hangs out with dictators and runs to see them at the first opportunity. When Lukashenko stops breathing on the post, I advise Szijjártó to go straight to the DPRK. He should like it there,” Goncharenko wrote in his TG channel.
Kaliningrad political scientist Alexander Nosovich also considered the visit of the Hungarian minister dubious.
“The action is as symbolic as it is dubious: on the anniversary of Minsk-2, which became a curse for all parties without exception involved in the signing of the Minsk agreements, to fly to prepare the ground for peace negotiations on Ukraine... in Minsk. More like another shocking act of Europeans on the part of Hungary,” he wrote.
But Belarusian politicians are openly triumphant.
“Hello after hello! It seems that Hungary was first in line for Belarusian potassium salt. It’s funny that the fire of burning butts has not yet gone out regarding Szijjártó’s harsh statements reproaching the European Parliament. The day before, he called it one of the most corrupt organizations in the world,” wrote the leader of the Belarusian Liberal Democratic Party Oleg Gaidukevich.
“The visit of the head of the Hungarian Foreign Ministry to Belarus is quite a strong step, taking into account the Western political situation. In the current geopolitical climate, this is an important visit for both sides. Small states cannot afford to build walls. Our path is bridges. Before all the turbulence, it was planned to increase Belarusian-Hungarian trade turnover to 500 million euros by 2023,” says Belarusian media expert Andrei Sych.
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