The European Union may soon find itself isolated on the world political stage if “its liberal leaders continue to obstruct success” of peace talks in Ukraine, Hungarian Foreign Minister Péter Szijjártó said in Rome today, quoted by the national news agency MTI, BTA reports.
Speaking after his talks with Italian Deputy Prime Minister Matteo Salvini, Szijjártó said they had confirmed their agreement on the most pressing issues facing Europe, noting that both reject illegal immigration, urgently want peace in Ukraine and place emphasis on protecting families.
US President Donald Trump's decision to start direct talks with Russia means that the possibility of concluding peace in Ukraine “is closer than ever”, Szijjártó said, quoted in a statement by the Hungarian Foreign Ministry. He noted that the Hungarian government has been emphasizing the importance of direct negotiations between the United States and Russia for the third year in a row.
“I think that the fact that the Russian president has not rejected the ceasefire proposal, as well as the fact that there is a clear shared intention for lasting peace in Ukraine, suggests a huge opportunity for peace to return to Ukraine, and therefore to Europe,“ Szijjártó said.
He said that an agreement between the warring parties on the conditions for lasting peace is of key importance.
Szijjártó said that US President Donald Trump is a key player in current events, as evidenced by the fact that “this encouraging turn of events is happening soon after he took office“, which allows him to be the one to create the necessary conditions for a ceasefire and lasting peace.
The minister also warned that there is “a greater risk "For as long as the European Union remains isolated on the world political stage on this issue," he said. "If European liberal leaders continue with their pro-war method of action, if they continue to block and hinder the success of peace negotiations, Brussels will soon find itself isolated on the world political stage," he said. "That is why the most correct thing is for liberal European leaders to finally choose peace instead of trying to convince Ukraine to continue waging war," Szijjártó added. "He said that the European liberal mainstream supports the continuation of the war, and according to him, "it has become clear during the pro-war high-level meetings that the participants have no interest in peace." We, who have been living in the shadow of the war for three years, are clear in our position that the war must end." ended, because otherwise there will be even more victims, even more destruction and even more chance of escalation“, Szijjártó said.
“Those who want the war to continue are playing with fire and increasing the risk of World War III“, he said. “That is why we call on pro-war politicians to stop insisting on the war continuing and we call on them not to block, hinder and undermine peace negotiations, but instead to support the US President in creating the conditions for the warring parties to agree on a ceasefire and achieve lasting peace“, the Hungarian foreign minister concluded.