Foreign minister calls for strengthening Eastern Partnership

Bratislava (Pozsony), May 15 (MTI) – The European Union’s Eastern Partnership programme needs to be strengthened so as to establish closer cooperation between western and eastern Europe, Foreign Minister Peter Szijjarto told MTI in Bratislava on Friday.

The Eastern Partnership could serve as a bridge between eastern and western Europe, Szijjarto said at a meeting attended by the foreign ministers of the Visegrad Four countries, the Eastern Partnership countries (Armenia, Azerbaijan, Belarus, Georgia, Moldova, Ukraine) as well as Sweden and Romania.

Szijjarto said Hungary supports strengthening the European Union’s Eastern Partnership programme in order to establish pragmatic and civilised cooperation between western and eastern Europe.

The minister also called for a strategic partnership between the EU and Azerbaijan, which he said was important for securing gas supplies. He said Azerbaijan is the only country which is capable of becoming a new source of gas supply for Europe.

Szijjarto said the European Union should change its approach to Belarus and develop close cooperation with it.

Photo: MTI

Source: http://mtva.hu/hu/hungary-matters