Hungary will block measures that damage relations with Russia, Belarus

Hungary will oppose EU measures that could harm the central European country's economy as well as Budapest's interactions with Russia and Belarus.

The comments were made by Hungarian Foreign Minister Peter Szijjarto during his visit to the Belarusian capital Minsk.

“We will do everything possible to ensure that no measures are taken that could harm our economy and limit our interactions with Russia and Belarus,” Szijjarto said on May 29.

“Our position has not changed: We always prevent measures that harm our national economy,” Hungary's top diplomat said after a meeting with Belarusian Foreign Minister Sergey Aleinik.

According to the Hungarian minister, cutting off communication channels between Europe and Belarus would be like losing “a very important asset” that could be used to achieve peace . “Diplomacy does not mean talking only to those who agree with you. That is not diplomacy. Diplomacy means talking to everyone, including those who do not agree with you on everything,” he added.

Mr. Szijjarto also noted that Hungary will not support EU sanctions targeting relations between Budapest and Minsk during discussions in the European Union (EU).

“In the EU discussion on sanctions, we will not support decisions that will negatively affect Hungary and our economy as well as Hungarian-Belarusian cooperation,” he said.

Hungarian Foreign Minister Peter Szijjarto and Belarusian Foreign Minister Sergei Aleinik in Minsk, May 29, 2024. Photo: RFE/RL

In addition, the Hungarian diplomat also said that Budapest has signed an agreement with Minsk on helping to build Hungary's second nuclear power plant.

“The agreement signed today on nuclear energy cooperation is of great importance, allowing us to use the experience that Belarus has gained here when building reactors with similar technology,” said Mr. Szijjarto.

Hungary's PAK 2 reactor has been under construction by Russia's Rosatom since 2014. The Russian company is building two 1.2-gigawatt reactors at PAKS 2 in central Hungary.

The 12.5 billion euro ($13.57 billion) project has been plagued by long delays, even though nuclear power is not covered by EU sanctions against Moscow in response to Russia's military campaign in Ukraine.

Hungary, an EU and NATO member state heavily dependent on Russian energy sources, has opposed the extension of sanctions to nuclear energy.

Mr Szijjarto also criticised proposals by some European and NATO partners to send their troops to Ukraine to train Kiev's forces.

EU defence ministers debated the idea of training Ukrainian forces inside the country on 28 May but failed to reach a consensus. The 27-nation bloc still provides training to the Ukrainian army, but it is done in EU countries .

Minh Duc (According to TASS, Reuters)

Source: https://www.nguoiduatin.vn/hungary-se-chan-cac-bien-phap-gay-ton-hai-den-quan-he-voi-nga-belarus-a666159.html