Hungarian minister afraid of ‘History’s biggest humanitarian catastrophe’

The international community should join forces to prevent escalation of the Israeli-Palestinian conflict, Foreign Minister Péter Szijjártó said in Muscat on Tuesday.

Speaking at a meeting of representatives of the European Union and the Gulf Cooperation Council, Szijjártó expressed the Hungarian government’s concern and called for a responsible approach, warning that developments could “easily lead to the gravest humanitarian disaster in history”. The minister said it was regrettable that the conflict had flared up “at the worst possible time”, when stabilisation was under way and the parties had taken significant steps towards peace. “Those achievements may now be ruined,” he added.

Sustainable peace in the Middle East, he said, was crucial, adding that GCC members could play an important role in preventing escalation. Intervention by the group had played “a positive and stabilising role in respect of a number of previous regional conflicts,” he added. The minister said he hoped the world could rely on their efforts towards a settlement that improved European security. Reinforcing cooperation between the EU and GCC “is needed now more than ever”, he said, and urged talks on such issues as lifting visa requirements and signing a free trade agreement with GCC members.

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EU-GCC cooperation would be a vital tool in tackling humanitarian crises worldwide, Szijjártó said. “We all know that waves of migration are primarily triggered by armed conflicts, wars, and the mounting threat of terrorism,” he said, adding that “the global security situation has a direct impact on migratory pressure on the EU … whenever the world’s security is improves, pressure of migration on Europe eases; when the security situation deteriorates, it grows.”