FM Szijjártó: Trump beacon of hope

What remains most important amid fresh developments in the US presidential race is that Donald Trump is a beacon of hope for peace in the world, Péter Szijjártó, the foreign minister, said on Tuesday.

Trump a beacon of hope?

Photo: Facebook/Szijjártó Péter

Szijjártó said that if the former president was re-elected, then there would be “a huge chance of bringing peace to the world, including Europe … and central Europe, too”.

According to a ministry statement, he said the war on the Russian-Ukrainian front was “more and more brutal”, and only an external actor may bring the warring parties to the negotiating table, making it clear to them that “no solution lies on the battlefield”.

“Only Donald Trump has such a chance,” he said, adding that the Republican presidential candidate would hopefully seize it at the earliest possible opportunity.

Meanwhile, Szijjártó said the fact that the EU’s foreign policy chief had changed the venue of the bloc’s informal foreign affairs council to Brussels from Budapest was “not of great importance”. “It didn’t matter to me then, and it doesn’t matter now,” he said.

He insisted that those in favour of holding the meeting in Budapest outweighed those against.

Szijjártó said that the recent meeting of the EU Foreign Affairs Council had been characterised by “unbelievable hysteria”, and he referred to “pro-war politicians venting their frustration” at Prime Minister Viktor Orban’s “peace mission”.

He noted that Slovakia “despite the pressure, stood by Hungary openly”. The minister said there had been “clear cooperation between two patriotic governments” who worked together “in a fraternal way” despite not being politically aligned “according to the old divides”, he added.

Szijjártó: IFRC expands Budapest office

The expanded Budapest office of the International Federation of Red Cross and Red Crescent Societies (IFRC) was inaugurated on Tuesday, the minister of foreign affairs and trade said, adding that this was set to further bolster the organisation’s activities.

Speaking at the inauguration ceremony, Szijjártó noted that the IFRC had chosen Budapest as the location for its global service centre eight years ago and this was the second expansion of the office since then.

Currently, there are 118 Hungarian and 110 foreign citizens working at the Budapest IFRC office, he said, adding that the expansion was set to increase staff to up to 280.

Szijjártó said it was important to ensure the most favourable operating conditions possible, which could help the organisation carry out its duties at the highest possible level. The government, he added, had assured the IFRC of its continued support, noting the tax exemptions for its staff members, which parliament will have to approve in the autumn.

Meanwhile, Szijjártó said mankind had entered “an era of dangers”, with armed conflicts going on in more than 30 places in the world.

Concerning the war in Ukraine, the minister said around 1,500 schools and kindergartens have welcomed Ukrainian refugee children. Refugees, he added, had equal access to health care, and the government was also supporting them in finding jobs.

On another subject, Szijjártó praised the work of the Hungary Helps agency which has so far carried out 360 humanitarian projects worth a combined 120 million US dollars across 64 countries.

He said the organisation’s aim was to ensure that Christian and other communities could survive where they have been living for centuries instead of being forced to leave their homeland.

He said that as a country with a thousand years of Christian statehood behind it, Hungary felt a special responsibility for Christian communities around the world.

“We believe that one’s right to live in one’s home in safe and peaceful conditions is one of the most important aspects of human rights,” he said. “The international community’s most important goal should be to restore these fundamental rights, and I think the IFRC plays a leading role in this.”

Szijjártó noted that Hungary has been a member of the IFRC since 1921.

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