Hungarian FM Szijjártó backs US-Russia talks, says they’re needed for peace in Ukraine

In the current phase, US-Russia negotiations are needed to end the war in Ukraine, Péter Szijjártó, the foreign minister, said in Washington, DC on Thursday, adding that the outcome of talks could bring peace and security to the whole of Europe.

Szijjártó met US National Security Advisor Mike Waltz, who briefed him about Tuesday’s talks in Riyadh between US and Russian representatives, according to a ministry statement. The minister said it was hopeful that US-Russian relations could resume, with a positive impact on central European security. He said there was a close connection between rebuilding US-Russian relations “and the possibility of establishing peace”.

A solution was needed for ending the war and creating security and calm in the region in the long term, he said, adding that this was possible only by “accepting the reality”. The minister also mentioned “undue criticism” of President Donald Trump and the current talks, which he attributed to “the wailing of frustrated liberal European politicians who have implemented failed policies over the past three years…”

“We’ll do everything … to ensure that this frustrated European liberal leadership can’t prevent the establishment of a US-Russian agreement and a big peace agreement,” he said. He said European “wailing” was “incomprehensible” as “almost half of the US government” was at last week’s Munich Security Conference, and soon the British Prime Minister and the French President would travel to Washington. Also, Secretary of State Marco Rubio briefed his G7 counterparts on the talks, he added.