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”.

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.