Hungarian FM Szijjártó: Hungary to veto EU sanctions against Georgia officials if necessary

Hungary’s government believes the European Union’s proposal to impose sanctions on Georgia’s interior minister and two police officials is “nonsensical and uncalled for”, and will veto the motion if necessary, Péter Szijjártó, the foreign minister, said on Tuesday.

Szijjártó meets Georgian FM

Hungary and Georgia are both led by patriotic governments “against which the liberal mainstream has launched serious ideological and political attacks”, Szijjártó said at a joint press conference with Georgian counterpart Maka Botchorishvili, according to a ministry statement.

The minister said Botchorishvili’s first foreign visit was to Hungary, which had come at a time “when both countries constantly have to fight to preserve their sovereignty amid the current extraordinary security challenges”.

Photo: Facebook / Szijjártó Péter

Szijjártó congratulated Georgia’s ruling party on its recent election victory, saying the electorate in the South Caucasus country had “made its will clear”.

“They elected a pro-peace, pro-family, patriotic conservative government, and as it usually happens in a case like this, the liberal mainstream got upset over this,” Szijjártó said. “Because typically, if an election is won by a conservative, patriotic party, the liberal mainstream immediately questions the democratic nature of the political system, and if it’s won by a liberal party, they celebrate the fantastic rule of democracy.”

He said the situation was the same in Georgia, arguing that if the opposition had won “Brussels would be saying that democracy has never been in better shape”. But now, he said, “they’re trying to ignore the will of the people and are questioning the outcome of the election”.

“This is a very repulsive, transparent, and now a very boring game of the liberal mainstream, which we reject,” he said.

Szijjártó expressed his support for Georgia’s European Union aspirations, underlining that Budapest would provide all the help it could to speed up the process, but Brussels’s approach, he added, was alienating the country.

He criticised a recent resolution approved by the European Parliament concerning Georgia, which, he said, took “a humiliating tone towards an entire nation”.

“We reject this… The European Parliament has a pro-war, liberal, left-wing majority which constantly attacks those who speak openly about peace,” Szijjártó said.

He also said that “minutes ago”, Brussels had put forward a proposal to impose sanctions on Georgia’s interior minister and two of its police officials.

“This is nonsensical, outrageous and totally uncalled for,” Szijjártó said. “Hungary firmly opposes placing Georgian government officials on sanctions lists, and if such a proposal is drafted, we will, of course, veto it.”

He encouraged Georgians to continue to stand up for themselves and their national sovereignty.

As regards bilateral relations, he welcomed the progress made on the implementation of a strategic partnership agreement signed two years ago.

Bilateral trade turnover is up 34 percent this year, and Hungarian low-cost airline Wizz Air remains a market leader in Georgia’s air travel sector, Szijjártó said. Hungarian pharmaceutical exports to Georgia are on the rise, Hungary offers university scholarships to 80 Georgian students each year, and the two countries are working to enable the central European import of green energy, he added.

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