Hungarian foreign minister praised Poland’s leaders

Communication channels with regard to the war in Ukraine must be maintained to counter the risk of escalation, Péter Szijjártó, the foreign minister said on Thursday in Lodz, Poland, addressing a meeting of the Council of Ministers of the Organization for Security and Cooperation in Europe (OSCE), adding that Hungary “sends a message from the direct vicinity of the conflict that peace is needed as soon as possible”.

A ministry statement noted that Szijjártó told the meeting that as a neighboring state of Ukraine, Hungary was “directly and severely impacted” by the effects of the conflict, noting that Hungary is carrying out the largest humanitarian operation in its history.

The minister also noted that Poland was struck by missiles around two weeks ago, which may well have led to the outbreak of the third world war had Poland’s leaders not reacted “so calmly and responsibly”. Politicians and journalists who referred to a “deliberate missile attack”, he said, had acted “shamefully” by risking escalation. Similar risks remain as long as the war continues, he added.

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Referring to the thousands of Ukrainian families lacking electricity amid the winter, Szijjártó said this added urgency to the need to seek a peace settlement.

Meanwhile, the minister referred to “problematic” communication deficiencies in respect of the war, saying that the world “gave up hope for peace” by blocking communication channels which were kept open even during the Cold War with a view to avoiding another world war.