Latest news with #Szijjártó
Budapest Times
2 days ago
- Politics
- Budapest Times
FM: Presence of Trump at NATO summit ‘changed everything'
Péter Szijjártó, Minister of Foreign Affairs and Trade, said the presence of US President Donald Trump at the summit of NATO leaders 'changed everything' from the previous years' summits, shifting the focus from supporting Ukraine to strengthening the alliance's defense capabilities. Speaking at a press conference after the summit in The Hague, Minister Szijjártó said that if he had to summarise the difference between this year's summit and the ones in the last three years in just two words, he would say 'Donald Trump'. Minister Szijjártó said Trump's return to office 'changed everything', and now everyone was 'free to use words like peace, ceasefire and peace talks without fear of immediate public shaming'. 'With Donald Trump, peace efforts have also made a comeback,' Minister Szijjártó said. 'Today's summit finally had NATO and the strengthening of the transatlantic community's own defense capabilities on the agenda rather than unrealistic support to be given to Ukraine and its NATO membership.' He noted that the closing statement from Wednesday's summit is 'unusually short' at just eight pages long,' yet it says more and is better than the previous one'. Minister Szijjártó said the statement reaffirms member states' commitment to Article 5 of NATO's founding treaty as well as to Article 3 on national resilience obligations. Hungary, he said, was a frontrunner when it came to the development of defense capabilities, as it accounts for 45 percent of the country's military budget. Minister Szijjártó welcomed that NATO did not exacerbate tensions with Russia, as this year's statement 'doesn't contain any lengthy details when it comes to Moscow'. He said it was important that NATO has identified the growing threat of terrorism as a serious challenge which had been made more significant by the tensions in the Middle East, as it increased the risk of attacks in Europe. Member states also agreed to raise their defencs spending to 5 percent of GDP, investing 3.5 percent in core defense and 1.5 percent in building critical infrastructure and networks, maintaining civil preparedness, as well as developments and innovation, Minister Szijjártó said. The allies have also agreed to submit annual national plans detailing how they will increase their defense capabilities, he said, adding that there was no set amount of progress member states were required to make each year. 'We will review the situation in 2029 and determine how we are doing in light of the security situation at the time,' he added. Member states also agreed that it was their sovereign right to support Ukraine, he said, adding that this was a welcome outcome given that the Hungarian government did not want NATO 'to cross certain red lines and end up in a direct confrontation with Russia'. The allies also affirmed their commitment to strengthening their defense industries, and a decision was made on holding next year's summit in Turkiye and the following one in Albania, he added. They also adopted resolutions on bolstering NATO's southern strategy and recognising illegal immigration as a risk factor, he said. Also, they approved recommendations on the swift implementation of innovative technologies in order to reduce bureaucracy and administration, he added. Minister Szijjártó also highlighted the renewal of the strategy on countering hybrid threats, adding that it had to be made clear that it was each member's responsibility to take the necessary steps to implement the strategy as a national competence in order to bring collective defense to an acceptable level.
Budapest Times
3 days ago
- Business
- Budapest Times
Hungary is ready to collaborate with the new Romanian government, minister says
Péter Szijjártó, Minister of Foreign Affairs and Trade, stated that Hungary is ready to collaborate with the new Romanian government, given their shared economic and energy security interests, which rely on 'stable, respectful and mutually beneficial cooperation' in today's perilous world. Noting the formation of the government to include the Hungarian Democratic Alliance in Romania (RMDSZ), Minister Szijjártó said he spoke with RMDSZ leader Hunor Kelemen by phone and 'congratulated my friend'. The interests of Hungarians in Transylvania 'are best served' with RMDSZ representatives in government, he added.
Budapest Times
3 days ago
- Business
- Budapest Times
FM: NATO commitment to increase spending is a great opportunity for Hungary
Minister Szijjártó said it was important that allied countries now made a commitment to spend 5 percent of GDP on defense in two categories within 10 years, also in line with Trump's proposal. Péter Szijjártó, Minister of Foreign Affairs and Trade, said a new commitment by NATO members to increase their defense spending to at least 5 percent of GDP within ten years is a great opportunity for Hungary. On the first day of a NATO summit in The Hague, Minister Szijjártó noted that it had been eight years ago that US President Donald Trump first attended a NATO meeting. 'Since that time, theoretically all members fulfilled the target to spend at least 2 percent of GDP on defense, and Hungary has met the target three years ago,' he said, according to a ministry statement. Minister Szijjártó said it was important that allied countries now made a commitment to spend 5 percent of GDP on defense in two categories within 10 years, also in line with Trump's proposal. In recent years, Hungary invested heavily in its defense industry, with demand in the sector expected to increase in the near future, he said. As a result, the commitment offers an opportunity for significant economic development for Hungary, he added. He said NATO countries also had an obligation to spend 20 percent of defense spending on development and procurement, with Hungary being among the leaders in this area. 'Last year, Hungary's 45 percent rate put it at fourth place in the alliance. And this also means that Hungary spends nearly half of its defense spending on modernisation, new equipment and development in order to guarantee the security of the country, Hungarian people and families in an extremely uncertain international environment, an an era of crises,' he said. Minister Szijjártó said this was the first occasion since 2022 that the meeting of the military organisation was not focused on stronger support for Ukraine, but on solidifying collective defense. He welcomed that for the first time Ukraine's NATO membership had been'openly and clearly' removed from the agenda, and that the Ukrainian president had not been invited to the official meeting, only an informal dinner. 'I am convinced that by removing Ukraine's NATO membership from the agenda, the world has become a safer place … Because if Ukraine had become a NATO member, it would have resulted in direct confrontation between the North Atlantic Alliance and Russia, and such direct confrontation would obviously equal the outbreak of a third world war,' he added. He praised the US president's efforts for peace and expressed hope that NATO will finally close ranks in support of this policy. He also said that Hungary was making efforts not only for its own security but also for its allies. He cited as an example the Hungarian air forces carrying out air policing activities in the airspace of Slovakia, Croatia and Slovenia, and a Hungarian contingent with four aircraft and eighty staff to return to the Baltic states for the fourth time from August.
Budapest Times
4 days ago
- Politics
- Budapest Times
Foreign Minister says ‘one of most offensive sentences' of his career uttered at EU meeting
Péter Szijjártó, Minister of Foreign Affairs and Trade, on Monday slammed remarks by the European Union's foreign policy chief on the situation of ethnic Hungarians in Ukraine as 'one of the most offensive utterances' he had heard during his time as minister. Speaking at a news conference after a meeting of the EU's Foreign Affairs Council in Brussels, Minister Szijjártó said he had raised the issue of the treatment of ethnic Hungarians in Ukraine, insisting that Ukraine was refusing to restore the rights of the Hungarian community because it believed Brussels would 'put enough pressure on Hungary for it to back down from its protest'. Minister Szijjártó said the EU's top diplomat, Kaja Kallas, had responded to his address, saying that the EU 'defends minority rights within the European Union, not outside it'. The minister slammed Kallas's remark as 'outrageous', saying it went to show that Ukraine 'mustn't be allowed to take a single step forward in the accession process until it fully restores the rights of the Hungarian minority'. 'No amount of pressure from Brussels can force us to give up our stance on the protection of Transcarpathian Hungarians,' Minister Szijjártó said.
Budapest Times
4 days ago
- Politics
- Budapest Times
FM: Hungary stands in support of Qatar's sovereignty
Péter Szijjártó, Minister of Foreign Affairs and Trade, stated that Hungary stands in support of Qatar's sovereignty and the right of Qataris to a peaceful existence. 'Qatar is a friend of Hungary and a strategic ally in the region,' Minister Szijjártó said in a post on Facebook. 'We have always counted on one another,' he said, adding that the Qataris played 'a decisive role' in the release of three Hungarian hostages from Hamas captors. The minister said he reassured his counterpart of the solidarity of the Hungarian people. 'My friend Sultan bin Saad Al Muraikhi and I expressed our hope that the conflict in the Middle East, through negotiations, will end swiftly,' he said. Fully 250 Hungarians reside in Qatar, 71 of whom have registered for consular protection, he said.
