Hungary and Poland bound by true friendship

Hungary and Poland today continue to be bound by true friendship and both countries can count on each other’s unconditional support, Foreign Minister Péter Szijjártó said at a celebration marking the 100th anniversary of Poland’s independence in Budapest on Tuesday.

At the event held at the Museum of Fine Arts, Hungarian Justice Minister László Trócsányi and Budapest Mayor István Tarlós were decorated with the Order of Merit of the Republic of Poland, Commander’s Cross.

Zsolt Németh, the head of parliament’s foreign affairs committee, was decorated with the Officer’s Cross and Richárd Horcsik, head of the European affairs committee, with the Knight’s Cross.

In his keynote address, Szijjártó said Hungarians and Poles were well aware of what it meant to fight for freedom and could therefore value it. “And we insist on it under all circumstances,” the minister said.

Szijjártó said his country was one that had to fight for its freedom many times throughout its history. Hungary appreciates and values freedom, “it’s a real nation of freedom fighters,” Szijjártó said. He added that the same was true about Poland.

Poland became independent 100 years ago and Hungarians were always there to do their part in Poland’s freedom fights, he said.

Both nations can now call themselves free, both countries are independent, but “the storms of history are still not quieting down, in fact the waves are reaching higher and higher”, Szijjártó said.

He said this was why Hungary and Poland had to strengthen their friendship. Both countries are at the receiving end of severe attacks, the minister insisted. They are being attacked by those that want to establish a “united states of Europe”, to change the composition of Europe’s population and move Europe to a “post-national and post-Christian period”, he said. Those attacking Poland and Hungary also want Europeans to forget their national identities and religious and cultural traditions, Szijjártó said.

“But we will resist,” the minister said. “We have always been European nations, we’ve always wanted a strong Europe, but a Europe of strong nations rather than one of subordinated nations.”

“We have an opinion and we’ll always express it,” Szijjártó said. “We can because we have the performance to back it up, as demonstrated by the economic and security situation.”

Jerzy Snopek, Poland’s ambassador to Hungary, said all Europeans knew that 100 years had passed since the end of the first world war. This anniversary is especially important for Poles, the ambassador said, because it was 100 years ago that they regained their independence, making the dream of several generations a reality.

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Source: MTI