PM Orbán, FM Szijjártó held talks about war, athletics, aid for Christians

Prime Minister Viktor Orbán held talks with former Slovenian counterpart and head of the Slovenian Democratic Party, Janez Jansa, in his office on Saturday, the prime minister’s press chief said. Orbán and Jansa discussed, among other things, the damage caused by some of the worst storms in Slovenia’s history, for which Hungary has also provided aid in recent weeks, Bertalan Havasi told MTI.

They also discussed the global political situation as well as the importance of peace with respect to the Russia-Ukraine war, and reviewed the work to be done by European conservative Christian parties ahead of next year’s European Parliament elections. Jansa is scheduled to attend the August 20 celebrations and events at the World Athletics Championships in Budapest, Havasi said.

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Hungarian foreign minister holds talks with former Lebanese FM

Foreign Minister Péter Szijjártó held talks with former Lebanese counterpart Gebran Bassil, leader of the Free Patriotic Movement, in Budapest on Saturday. One of the pillars of Hungary’s Christian foreign policy is providing assistance to Christian communities in need, Szijjártó said at their joint press conference.

He said international politics should be about building relations, not about breaking them. “If you listen to European politicians, you can mostly hear about what separates us and what makes us different from other parts of the world. For some reason, there is less talk about what connects us and what we have in common,” he added.

“It is clearly in Hungary’s national interest to establish civilised cooperation between East and West. The cooperation between Hungary and Lebanon is an excellent example to this,” he said. He added that respect for each other and the shared Christian heritage provided a stable basis for this, as Hungary has a thousand-year-old Christian statehood, and Lebanon is home to the oldest Christian communities.

Szijjártó said that mayors András Cser-Palkovics and Marcellino Hark signed a twinning agreement between their cities, Székesfehérvár and Batroun, which further strengthened the friendship of the two nations. He noted that the government had provided close to 5 billion forints (EUR 13.0m) for the preservation and renovation of ancient Christian sites in Lebanon and the renovation of sixty-six medieval churches was under way with Hungarian assistance. Based on tied-aid agreements signed this year, the government is providing 140 million forints for the renovation of a historical monument, the reconstruction of a monastery church and an orphanage, and the operation of Protestant schools in Lebanon.

Who’s next? – asks Orbán.