Israeli PM Netanyahu may come to visit Hungary despite arrest warrant

Hungary’s invitation to Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyau still stands, Foreign Minister Péter Szijjártó said on Thursday, calling the International Criminal Court’s arrest warrant for Netanyahu a “politically-motivated decision”.

The ICC’s arrest warrant for Netanyahu “has discredited the court”, Szijjártó told a joint press conference with Israeli counterpart Gideon Sa’ar, according to a ministry statement. “These kinds of decisions obviously also impact Hungary’s ideas and plans for cooperation with the court in the future,” Szijjártó said in response to a question. “Once there is a specific decision on this, we will, of course, inform the public,” he added.

Concerning the war in Ukraine, Szijjártó said Hungary’s interest lay in a diplomatic settlement to the conflict, but this required keeping communication channels open. “To put it simply, we have to talk to each other,” the minister said, adding that he hoped that the inauguration of the new US president and his plans will enable direct talks between the US and Russian presidents.

“If there is direct contact between Donald Trump and Vladimir Putin, it will give us great hope that the war next door that’s been going on for three years can finally end,” Szijjártó said. “A diplomatic solution is needed; there’s no solution on the battlefield,” he said. “If those who prefer a solution on the battlefield prevailed, it would only lead to more destruction, more death, more suffering and a greater-than-ever risk of a world war.”

Ukraine’s decision to halt the transit of Russian gas unacceptable

As regards gas imports, the minister said Hungary refused to relinquish its sovereign right to determine where and how it buys energy. He slammed Ukraine’s decision to halt the transit of Russian gas through its territory as “unacceptable”, saying it threatened the region’s energy security. “A European Union candidate country causing energy supply challenges for EU members is unacceptable.”

Szijjártó said Hungary and Slovakia have increased the capacity of their gas interconnector by 900 million cubic metres in the interest of boosting Slovakia’s energy security. He also noted that Hungary received 7.6 billion cubic metres of gas via the TurkStream pipeline last year, which left about 900 million cubic metres of free capacity through that delivery route.

Meanwhile, he said he hoped that the government could soon announce “positive developments” when it comes to “resolving the situation that has arisen as a result of the personal revenge of the frustrated, failed, and disgraced ambassador of the failed US administration”, adding that they had already taken legal and political steps in the matter.

Full implementation of Gaza ceasefire in Hungary’s interest

The implementation of the ceasefire and hostage deal in Gaza, an important factor to improving worldwide security, is important for Hungary, the minister of foreign affairs and trade said in Budapest on Thursday, after talks with his Israeli counterpart, Gideon Sa’ar.

According to a ministry statement, Peter Szijjarto told a joint press conference with Sa’ar that events in the Middle East had a serious impact on global security, and welcomed the agreement on a ceasefire and hostage exchange between Israel and Hamas.

Hungary has a vested interest in the full implementation of the agreement, all the more so because the last Hungarian hostage in Hamas captivity could be freed in the second phase, should Phase 1 be successful, he said. He said that the hostage, a man under the age of 50, was not part of the groups that had been subjects of the negotiations so far, “but we hope that this agreement … will lay the groundwork for him to return to his family, after many months of captivity…”

“Hungary and Europe’s security, our commitment to peace and our Christian approach gives us a vested interest in the full implementation of the ceasefire and in a sustainable peace in the Middle East, which would also restore the right of the people in Israel among other places to a calm, safe and dignified life.”

Noting the Abraham Accords signed during US President Donald Trump’s first term, Szijjarto said he hoped that Trump’s second tenure would also contribute to peace in the region.

Meanwhile, Szijjarto said that Hungary, a state with a 1,000-year Christian history, was committed to supporting Christians worldwide. “We hope that the ceasefire between Israel and Lebanon will be lasting. My colleague and I agreed that there must be a special emphasis on ensuring that no religious communities are persecuted in Syria,” he added.

Szijjarto lamented what he called “an extremely hostile, unbalanced and biased approach to Israel in forums of the UN and the European Union, which Hungary has always stood up against using its own weight and means”. “In the UN, we voted against the further harassment of Israel in the International Criminal Court, which lost its credibility and seriousness when it issued an arrest warrant against the prime minister of Israel,” he added.

That step had been part of “a kind of modern anti-Semitism, which is partly a result of illegal mass migration,” Szijjarto said.

Szijjarto also said that Hungary saw its cooperation with Israel as strategically important, with no unresolved issues between the two countries. “What’s more, there are direct flights [between the countries] again.”

Sa’ar praised Hungary as “one of the countries which clearly see the difference between good and evil, right and wrong.”

“Hungary, under the leadership of Viktor Orban, is a close good friend and an important ally of Israel. I greatly appreciate the Hungarian government’s support in the international arena, especially in the European Union and the UN,” he said.

In view of the challenges facing Europe and the Middle East, Israel and Hungary “must have an important role”, Sa’ar said. “This is the alliance of two proud, free, sovereign states,” he added.

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