President Sulyok celebrates Day of Polish-Hungarian friendship; Polish President Nawrocki: Hungarians friends, Putin foe – photos

The Polish-Hungarian friendship rests on firm foundations and forms an integral part of both nations’ cultures, Hungarian President Tamás Sulyok emphasised on Monday at a joint press conference in the south-eastern Polish city of Przemyśl with his Polish counterpart, Karol Nawrocki.

Hungarian President Tamás Sulyok in Premysl

At the press conference held during the presidential meeting to mark Polish-Hungarian Friendship Day, Mr Sulyok underlined his agreement with Mr Nawrocki that the friendship between the two nations is an “integral part” of their cultures, not “subject to politics”, but a deeply rooted phenomenon that has organically evolved through history.

Hungary and Poland have been bound by Christian values since their foundations as states, with their centuries-old friendship standing on solid ground, the Hungarian president stressed.

Sulyok was greeted with military honours in Przemysl’s flag-draped main square, where crowds chanted “Poles and Hungarians, two good friends” as he arrived for talks.

Sulyok said he agreed with Nawrocki that “the friendship between the two nations is an integral part of our culture; it is not vulnerable to politics but a deep-rooted historical phenomenon.“

Polish-Hungarian hero also celebrated

Hungary and Poland had been linked by Christian values since their foundation, he added.

Sulyok paid tribute to Hungarian soldiers who died in Przemysl during the first world war, calling the city a “symbolic” choice for the talks.

The leaders also touched on the upcoming 70th anniversary of Hungary’s 1956 uprising, recalling how students marched under Polish flags to a statue of General József Bem, a Polish-Hungarian hero. Sulyok also hailed a Budapest school competition on joint history, attended by local students. “While young people care about our past, the future is secure,” he said.

Sulyok underscored the vital role of twin-town ties, civil society links and academic-business partnerships, proposing that future presidential summits on the Day of Polish-Hungarian Friendship be paired with sister-city gatherings.

He acknowledged disagreements but stressed common ground, warning of economic risks from escalating Middle East tensions and the war in Ukraine.

Nawrocki: Poles “love Hungarians” but “hate” Russian President Vladimir Putin

Nawrocki said friendship must transcend short-term political swings. Both nations, he said, wanted to remain part of the European Union and cared about the state of the bloc. He said Poland could count on Hungary’s support in its opposition to the Mercosur trade deal and the European Commission’s “overbearing bureaucracy“.

He said that as friends, the two countries had to accept that they did not always see eye to eye. He said Poles “love Hungarians” but “hate” Russian President Vladimir Putin, who he said was a “threat to Europe, NATO’s eastern flank and the EU“.

The annual Polish-Hungarian friendship celebrations date back to March 24, 2006, when the two countries’ presidents at the time, Lech Kaczynski of Poland and Laszlo Solyom of Hungary, inaugurated a memorial in Gyor.

If you missed our previous articles concerning Poland:

• Polish presidential adviser claims halting Russian oil transit to Hungary is due to Brussels-Kyiv pact
• FM Sikorski: Hungary directly harms Poland’s security interests