Hungarian President in France: Hungary fights to restore peace in Ukraine
“We are fighting with all our might to restore peace” in Ukraine, the Hungarian president told the 5th Paris Peace Forum on Friday. “What we need is a strong and successful Europe,” President Katalin Novák said after talks with Gerard Larchet, president of the French Senate, in Paris on Friday.
Held ahead of the International Peace Forum, the bilateral talks focused on topical challenges, Novák said on Facebook. After their talks, Novák and Larchet issued a joint statement, Novák’s office told MTI. The meeting provided an opportunity to review topical EU related and bilateral issues, the Russian aggression against Ukraine and the impacts of the war, the office said in a statement.
Novák expressed hope that the two countries would in future deepen their relations in the spirit of pragmatism. Larchet highlighted Hungary’s “unique mission” within the European Union and the importance of relations between the two countries. Novák also held talks with Serbian President Aleksandar Vucic, whom she referred to as “an old friend, a strategic partner”, and said she was looking forward to “welcoming Serbia as a European Union member”.
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Hungary’s president urged restoration of peace in Ukraine, at Paris forum
“We are fighting with all our might to restore peace” in Ukraine, the Hungarian president told the 5th Paris Peace Forum on Friday.
In her address, Katalin Novák noted that Hungary had firmly condemned Russia’s attacking Ukraine since the outbreak of the war, and that position had not changed.
Evaluating the situation, Novák said a prolonged conflict led to “more destruction, suffering, and an escalation of the war”. She said a “real intention” for ceasefire was lacking, with “the parties refusing to realise that fighting will not take them closer to peace”. She regretted there was “no sufficient and firm intent to mediate between the parties” while “disinformation hinders agreement and causes serious damage”. She said deliberate provocations were delaying a solution, and “Russian President Putin is talking about territorial claims laid by European states in an effort to create confrontation between countries”.
Novák warned of an impending nuclear threat,
adding that threats of compromising energy and food supplies were “dishonest”. Novák also regretted that there was no common “strategic thinking” and added that inciting ethnic tension and attacks against ethnic minorities were “but deepening wounds and hindering understanding”.
“We must do everything in the interest of the next generations to end this conflict and restore peace,” the Hungarian president said.
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Source: MTI