Hungarian foreign minister negotiated again with Russia

Szijjártó called for “sobriety” on the part of the countries in the Middle East in order to prevent the armed conflict in the region from escalating into a regional war. The Middle East has been gripped by a “tragic conflict” since Hamas’s “unacceptable, diabolical terrorist attack” against Israel on October 7 last year, Szijjártó said in New York after talks with his Lebanese and Palestinian counterparts, according to a ministry statement.

Hungary’s position, he said, was clear, noting that the government considered it important to prevent a repeat of such a terrorist attack, demanded the unconditional release of the hostages, and saw it as important to limit the number of civilian casualties and avoid an escalation in the conflict.

“And the way I see it, it’s this fourth point that’s causing most of the difficulty, because it’s been clear from early on that if this armed conflict spreads to another country, it will be very hard to limit the fighting to that other country’s borders,” he warned.

Lebanon “sliding into the conflict”

Szijjártó expressed concern over Lebanon “sliding into the conflict”, arguing that if it entered the war, it would be “very hard to stop the conflict at Lebanon’s borders”.

“And if this armed conflict turns into a regional war, then knowing the situation and level of stability in the region and knowing the role the countries there play in global politics, we are, unfortunately, faced with the threat that another crisis region in addition to Ukraine could totally undermine global security within a matter of moments,” he said.

Szijjártó said it was for this reason that Hungary believed it was critical that every country in the region act responsibly and that a regional war had to be prevented.

He said the people of Lebanon bore no blame for what was happening in the Middle East or for Hezbollah’s rocket strikes against Israel.

The minister expressed hope that innocent civilians, families and children would not have to suffer because of the “brutal actions of terrorist organisations”.

He noted the Hungarian government’s close ties with Lebanon’s Christian community, saying Hungary did not want Lebanese Christians to “face more hardship”.

“We’re in constant contact with the leaders of the Lebanese Christian community, we’ve sent them aid so that they can ensure the community receives the health care they need,” Szijjártó said.