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Hungary attributes great importance to cooperation between the European Union and Central Asia, especially in the current period when the situation in Afghanistan causes unprecedented security challenges for the whole world, Foreign Minister Péter Szijjártó said on Friday in Bishkek.

Szijjártó told a joint press conference with Kyrgyz counterpart Ruslan Kazakbayev that “perhaps never before has there been as much attention focused on Central Asia as today”. Possible reasons include global economic changes boosting the role of eastern regions and the failure of international intervention in Afghanistan, he added.

He slammed Brussels for “repeatedly making mistakes” and publishing irresponsible statements similar to 2015 which Szijjarto said increased “the danger of a new and ever-more serious migratory wave to develop”. During the time of the coronavirus pandemic, this poses not only security and civilisational threats but also serious health risks, he added.

He said it was a mistake that Brussels had not asked the opinion of Central Asian countries when it

encouraged them to accept a large number of Afghan refugees.

The Hungarian government shares the view of the region’s states that the crisis developed in Afgahnistan must be resolved within Afghanistan.

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Instead of accepting migrants, the EU should provide more resources to support border protection, Szijjarto said.