The chance for achieving peace is “far greater” with negotiations, re-opening diplomatic channels and dialogue than with weapons deliveries, sanctions and a strategy based on diplomatic refusal, Péter Szijjártó, the foreign minister, said in a telephone interview with public radio broadcast on Sunday.
Szijjártósaid it was now “apparent to everybody” that the strategy of Europe and the United States over the past two and a half years didn’t work, even though Western politicians wouldn’t say so in public because that would be an admission of failure.
Sanctions were a “shot in the foot, then the knee, then the chest” for the European economy, while European and American weapons deliveries didn’t change the situation on the battlefield and didn’t bring the war any nearer to a close, he added.
Szijjártó said there was no solution on the battlefield and that resolution needed to be sought at the negotiating table and by opening diplomatic channels. He added that restoring the legitimacy of dialogue for peace was “extraordinarily important”.
Addressing Prime Minister Viktor Orban’s talks in the past week, Szijjártó said no politician, especially a European one, could have done what the prime minister did. Besides Hungary’s prime minister, European politicians who can talk to everybody, who are welcomed everywhere and accepted as negotiating partners are no more, he added.
“Besides Viktor Orbán, there is nobody in Europe today in the position to hold talks with the presidents of China, Russia, Ukraine, Turkiye and the former, and many think future, president of the United States in the course of a week,” he said.
He added that there were three big players on the global political scene today that could achieve a ceasefire: China, the United States and the European Union.
At least two, but preferably three, must advocate for peace if there is a chance for the warring sides to move in the direction of peace rather than further escalation, he said.
He said the US presidential election could have a decisive impact on the matter as it would determine whether the US continued its “pro-war policy” or there was a chance to bring pro-peace policy to the forefront.
Commenting on the assassination attempt on Donald Trump, Szijjártó pointed to attempts “to block pro-peace policies with the most brutal, most unimaginable” means, just as with the Slovak prime minister, Robert Fico.
As part of his peace mission, Prime Minister Viktor Orbán met former US president Donald Trump on Thursday evening, the PM’s press chief said in a statement.
Based on Bloomberg, the Orbán-Trump summit shortly after the Orbán-Putin meeting strengthens worries that the Hungarian prime minister mediates between Trump and Putin. The Republican presidential candidate voiced several times that he would end the war in Ukraine and bring all American citizens home from Russian prisons.
Based on anonymous insiders talking to 444.hu, Trump did not ask the Hungarian prime minister to help hammer out a Ukrainian-Russian peace agreement. The source said the meeting was informal.
About the Orbán-Trumpmeeting, Bertalan Havasi, Orbán’s press chief, said that prospects for peace were discussed in Mar-a-Lago, Florida.
Foreign minister: ‘Massive tragedy’ if NATO turned into ‘anti-China bloc’
Whereas Hungary backs NATO cooperation with Indo-Pacific countries, this must not come at the expense of the potential “massive tragedy” of forming an “anti-China bloc” Péter Szijjártó, the foreign minister, said on the closing day of the NATO summit in Washington, DC on Thursday.
Szijjártó said it was “fine” if NATO focused on cooperation in the Indian Ocean region but only as long as it was not “directed against someone”. He said Hungary would not support “anyone pushing NATO’s Indo-Pacific relations in the direction of NATO becoming an anti-China bloc. That would be a massive tragedy.”
He said the world was already experiencing blockades, which were not in Hungary’s interests, “so we don’t want NATO to be an alliance against anyone”.
The minister welcomed that Indo-Pacific partnerships embraced “friendly countries such as South Korea and Japan”, noting their major role in Hungary’s economy and “automotive revolution”.
But NATO must take into consideration its role as a defence alliance when building foreign relations, he said. “We cannot become an aggressor alliance” and form “an anti-China bloc,” he added.
Read also:
PM Orbán arrived in Washington while NATO allies call him Putin’s useful idiot – Read more HERE
PM Orbán: NATO’s task is not to win wars – Details in THISarticle
Prime Minister Viktor Orbán discussed Hungary’s peace mission with Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan in Washington, DC on Tuesday, the PM’s press chief said.
Orbánasked Erdoganto back the peace mission, noting that Türkiye had been the only country so far to successfully mediate between the sides in the Russia-Ukraine war, Bertalan Havasi said.
Orbán wrote in his recent Facebook post that he would like to preserve the NATO for what it was founded 75 years ago: a defence alliance.
Hungary urges NATO to take ‘greater role’ in Ukraine peace initiative
The time has come for NATO “to take on a greater role in the peace mission for Ukraine and in starting meaningful talks”, Lorinc Nacsa, the head of the Hungarian delegation at the NATO parliamentary summit under way in Washington, DC, said late on Tuesday.
Nacsa noted that Hungary was not participating in NATO’s coordination mission concerning Ukraine, adding that the country “has received guarantees from the incumbent and incoming secretary generals”.
Below: peace mission with President Erdogan:
Nacsa called for coordinated international action to tackle global challenges such as security risks, wars, terrorism and illegal migration. The parliamentary summit was attended by deputies of the 32 NATO members and Ukraine.
EU affairs minister: Hungary to represent those ‘wanting change’
During its presidency of the Council of the European Union, Hungary will represent those wanting change and “will keep the hope for change alive in the next institutional cycle”, Hungary’s minister for EU affairs said in Brussels on Tuesday.
Speaking at an event at the Brussels headquarters of the Foundation for a Civic Hungary, János Boka said the EP elections “have clearly shown not only that change is necessary, but also that there is a yearning for change, as Europeans themselves have clearly expressed”.
Political forces campaigning for change had strengthened and those standing for the status quo had suffered losses, Boka said.
He said that over the last five years the EU “could have done a lot more to become a global player on its own that is capable of identifying and enforcing its own strategic interests” and taking responsibility for its own security. But during this time the bloc “hasn’t done anything” to resolve the migration crisis, defend its external borders or explore the “innovative solutions” that would have facilitated this, he said. Neither had the EU managed to reverse the decline in its economic competitiveness or provide a perspective for European agriculture, he added.
The Hungarian presidency will work to address these issues, Boka said.
Read also:
PM Orbán arrived in Washington while NATO allies call him Putin’s useful idiot – Read more HERE
Hungarian government prepares ‘anti-war action plan’ – Details in THISarticle
Prime Minister Viktor Orbán has arrived in Washington, DC., where he will take part in a three-day NATO summit, the PM’s press chief said on Tuesday.
The prime minister’s plane, like those of the other NATO leaders, landed at Andrews Air Force Base, Bertalan Havasi told MTI. Orbán is also scheduled to hold bilateral talks with the leaders of NATO member states.
After Orbán’s “peace mission” in Moscow and Russia’s missile attack against Ukrainian hospitals treating children suffering from cancer, Jan Lipavský, Czechia’s foreign minister, referred to Orbán as a useful idiot of President Putin in a tweet shared on X. Lipavský also wrote about the Washington NATO summit, which, he believes, will “push for a long-term strategy to contain Russia.”
While the useful idiots are rambling about peace with Putin, he is sending missiles to a children’s hospital. I’m currently heading to the NATO summit to push for a long-term strategy to contain Russia. One cannot yield to aggression. pic.twitter.com/Og5Kvln6b8
Helmut Brandstätter, an Austrian liberal MEP, called Orbán a clown in a tweet. “Look at the pictures of the children’s hospital in Kyiv and shut up”, he wrote.
You are a clown! putin is killing children just one day after you met him. And you talk about peace??? Look at the pictures of the childrens hospital in Kyiv and shut up! https://t.co/0hWiKnqUbw
— Helmut Brandstätter (@HBrandstaetter) July 8, 2024
Orbán sets historic record
Hungary took the EU presidency last week, and Orbán has been busy meeting some of the world’s top leaders in recent days. On 2 July, he visited President Zelensky in Kyiv, then went to Moscow, Beijing and now arrived in Washington. That is a historic record in such a short time.
Experts believe that even though some world leaders do not agree with Orbán’s position on many issues, they find his opinion interesting enough to meet him on last-minute visits.
PM Viktor Orbán and Chinese President Xi Jinping in Beijing on 8 July 2024. Photo: MTI/Miniszterelnöki Sajtóiroda/Benko Vivien Cher
In Washington, Orbán is expected to talk with President Joe Biden and even former President Trump in the following days. Zoltán Kiszelly, the political director of Századvég, thinks Orbán will not find supporters for his peace mission, Blikk, a Hungarian tabloid, wrote.
Orbán cabinet: ceasefire, peace talks only solution to Ukraine war
A ceasefire and peace talks are the only solution to the Ukraine war, the foreign minister said on Tuesday. Péter Szijjártó said on Facebook that the situation was getting increasingly severe in the Ukraine-Russia war, with recent “heartbreaking” events involving children, “and this can be expected to deteriorate further”.
“There are more and more weapons and the war propaganda is getting stronger, with a severe looming danger of escalation,” he said. “We have been warning of this for weeks.”
“There’s only one solution; there’s only one way to stop the senseless destruction and massacre; there’s only one way to save people’s lives and prevent more severe developments: a ceasefire and peace talks”, Szijjártó said.
Kyiv, Moscow, Beijing, Washington: the government says they are on a peace mission:
He added that this was the reason why the Hungarian leadership was setting off “on a peace mission” and paying a visit to Washington, DC.
“We will represent this stance at the NATO summit: there is no solution on the battlefield,” he said. “It is impossible to comprehend why they cannot accept this.”
“Yet, the draft resolutions for the next three days demonstrate a total lack of understanding, with NATO set to launch a mission in support of Ukraine,” he said. “We will stay out of this; we won’t supply weapons, we won’t provide troops, and we will not take part in financing,” he added.
Read also:
Hungarian government prepares‘anti-war action plan’
Prime Minister Viktor Orbán travelled to China on Sunday night, Bertalan Havasi, Viktor Orbán’s press chief, confirmed press reports.
PM Orbán in Beijing, China
PM Viktor Orbán and Chinese President Xi Jinping in Beijing on 8 July 2024. Photo: MTI/Miniszterelnöki Sajtóiroda/Benko Vivien Cher
In response to a Telex inquiry, Bertalan Havasi wrote that “Prime Minister Viktor Orbán’s peace mission continues; the PM arrived in Beijing early Monday morning. Viktor Orbán will meet Chinese President Xi Jinping later in the day”.
According to his Facebook post, Minister of Foreign Affairs and Trade Péter Szijjártó is also in China. Orbán wrote on his social networking site that after Kyiv and Moscow, they had arrived in Beijing, the third stop of the peace mission.
Orbán flies to Washington
“Next stop: Washington”, Orbán wrote on his Instagram story shortly after 8.30 AM Hungarian time on Monday morning, accompanied by a photo of a plane taking off from Beijing airport, Telex reports.
The Hungarian Prime Minister is likely to travel to the US capital for the NATO summit, which will take place between 9 and 11 July.
Orbán: China’s advocating peace crucial
“China’s advocating peace across the world is important for Hungarians,” Orbán said on Monday in Beijing, where he met Chinese President Xi Jinping.
“Hungarians are a peace-loving people striving for peace, balance, and harmony, therefore we are always on the side of peace and never war,” the prime minister said. “China’s urging that there should be peace rather than war in the world is of great significance for us,” he said.
“With regard to the conflict in Hungary’s neighbourhood, we also greatly appreciate your peace initiative,” Orbán said, addressing his remark to the Chinese president.
Orbán called Xi’s visit to Hungary two months ago of historic significance and noted the weighty agreements they had signed. “What is more, the foundations were laid for the two peoples’ friendship for several generations … Xi’s visit was convincing and cordial, and reflected China’s goodwill and respect for Hungary,” he said.
“Generations will benefit from that visit, from the memories of the visit you paid to Budapest,” Orbán said, and thanked Xi for his efforts to elevate bilateral ties to a higher level.
“We have been working for the past two months to fill that framework with substance,” Orbán said, noting that the two countries’ delegations had been making progress inn cooperation.
Orbán congratulated Xi on “the stability China means for the world amid stormy global politics”.
Szijjártó: Hungary-China cooperation ‘solid foundation’ for Hungary’s economic growth
Hungary’s economic, trade and investment cooperation with China will provide a “solid foundation” for the country’s economic growth in the coming years, Péter Szijjártó said in Beijing on Monday.
He welcomed that China’s leaders supported the further development of that cooperation, adding that Chinese companies at the forefront of the car industry revolution would continue to bring investments to Hungary, the foreign ministry quoted Szijjártó as saying.
Chinese leaders also support a further increase in the number of Chinese tourists coming to visit Hungary and back the presence of even more Hungarian food products on the Chinese market, he added.
Chinese companies have 6,400 billion forints (EUR 16bn) worth of investments under way, creating 25,000 jobs directly and “turning Hungary into one of the world-class centres of the global automotive revolution and technological renewal.”
World-renowned American actor John Malkovich is in Budapest: however, for the time being, there is no information on whether he is in the country for filming.
John Malkovich in Budapest
American actor John Malkovich recently visited the Museum of Fine Arts in Budapest, Telex reports. According to the museum’s Facebook post, Malkovich arrived at the museum with his partner, where they were given a guided tour by Director General László Baán. Malkovich and his partner also visited the National Gallery.
“It was a great honour for us to have John Malkovich and his partner visit our museum and see the masterpieces of our art collection, guided by our director László Baán. Follow the Hollywood star’s example and come and visit our exhibitions!” – the museum wrote in its post:
The American actor also visited the Hungarian National Gallery, according to the museum’s Instagram page. According to the post, the works of Károly Ferenczy, József Rippl-Rónai, Tivadar Csontváry Kosztka and Gyula Benczúr were the most popular with the art-loving Malkovich, RTL writes.
According to the newer photos released today, Alexandra Szentkirályi, former government spokeswoman and Fidesz’s candidate for mayor until her resignation, was with Malkovich and his partner, Telex writes. Since the photos shared on Facebook were not captioned, it is not clear in what capacity Szentkirályi was present at the guided tour:
It is not yet clear whether the two-time Oscar-nominated actor is on holiday in Hungary or working on a film shoot.
It seems that the success story of the attraction shadow theatre may happen again in America. The disciples of the Hungarian shadow theatre, Attraction Juniors, including even child performers, astonished the jury of America’s Got Talent and advanced to the next stage with four ‘Yes’ votes. Congratulations!
Unique success of the Hungarian shadow theatre
In 2013, the jury of Britain’s Got Talent watched an unparalleled shadow theatre performance in London. The Hungarian Attraction amused all four members, even the otherwise harsh critics. Finally, they won the talent show, being the first and yet the only foreign group able to win Britain’s Got Talent.
Photo: FB/Attraction
Now their disciples, Attraction Juniors, went to Los Angeles in the United States with the same goal and – without a shadow of a doubt – made the first step towards becoming at least as popular and loved as the previous shadow theatre group.
Attraction Juniors. Photo: FB/Attraction
Hungarian kids and teenagers may advance to the top in America
According to index.hu, the group tried to compete in Britain’s Got Talent, but could not advance to the live show. Meanwhile, Attraction is preparing for its first full-night performance on 19 October.
Attraction Junior is a team of 8-18-year-old children and young teenagers. They tried to repeat the success of the Attraction in 2022 in London, performing about school bullying on Marisha Wallace’s Tomorrow. They fascinated the audience, and many people struggled with tears. However, they could not advance to the live show despite the millions of people who watched their performance, which you can watch below:
Attraction Juniors in America’s Got Talent live TV show
They did not give up and went to Los Angeles to perform in America’s Got Talent, the other popular branch of the franchise. Their “Dreams really do come true” performance astonished the jury and the audience. Moreover, they even got permission to use Taylor Swift’s The Lucky One.
Photo: PrtScr/Youtube
They advanced to the live show from more than 100 thousand applicants. Now, they are among the 55 productions and will start to compete in the live show from August 2024.
Attraction was led by Zoltán Szűcs, and Attraction Juniors’ head is his son, Márton Szűcs (21).
Here is their America’s Got Talent performance, also touching on the issue of bullying:
Read also:
Hungarian theatre group Attraction amazes American judges! – VIDEO and more in THISarticle
Outstanding Hungarian performers who conquered international talent shows – VIDEOS and details HERE
The General Assembly of the United Nations has adopted a Hungarian initiative with a full consensus to mark World Fair Play Day on May 19 each year, Foreign Minister Péter Szijjártó said on Facebook from New York on Tuesday.
“Today has started with a great Hungarian success,” the minister wrote, adding that 92 UNmembers had joined and co-authored the Hungarian proposal, “making a symbolic commitment and signalling their full support for our initiative”.
He said the initiative was backed by a “global coalition”, including China, the US, Germany, South Korea, Indonesia, Argentina, and the United Arab Emirates.
The Hungarian initiative “promotes an approach to reinforce sportsmanship and the values it represents, such as abiding by the rules, respecting the adversary and combatting violence and doping,” Szijjártósaid.
Referring to the peace-promoting role of the Olympic Games, Szijjártó said: “We want the whole world to remember … when athletes hugged after a competition even when they came from countries at war with each other.”
“With less than three weeks before the 33rd Summer Olympics, it is no exaggeration to say that this has been the greatest demonstration globally of support for the independence of sports and against the tendency of the world falling into blocs again … and all this is associated with us Hungarians,” Szijjártó said.
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The Orbán cabinet rejectsUN resolution about Srebrenica, Serbian leaders praises Hungary
The United States and the Biden administration are deeply concerned by the Hungarian government’s implementation of the “Defense of National Sovereignty Act,” including this week’s draconian actions by the recently established “Sovereignty Protection Office” to target the operations of civil society and independent media organizations.
The Hungarian government’s attempt to harass, intimidate, and punish independent organizations runs counter to the principles of democratic governance rooted in the rule of law. This law places no limit on this entity’s ability to target the human rights and fundamental freedoms of its own citizens and puts at risk any country, business entity, or individual that chooses to engage with them. The United States will continue to advocate for the protection of civil society organizations and media freedom in the face of these anti-democratic measures”, the spokesman’s statementgoes.
The Biden administration slammed the Sovereignty Protection Office many times
According to index.hu, the Sovereignty Protection Office examines two Hungarian organizations. One is Transparency International. The other is the Átlátszó media outlet, cooperating with Transparency International. The former regarded the establishment of the Sovereignty Protection Office as anti-constitutional and turned to the Constitutional Court. The office sent 62 questions and gave 30 days for answers.
US ambassador to Budapest, David Pressman, slammed the office multiple times. On 23 June, at a Pride picnic organised in Pressman’s residency, he compared the Sovereignty Protection Office to the Putin regime’s anti-democratic legislation.
Read also:
Donald Trump Jr praises Orbán and Hungary – Read more HERE
Hungary just got closer to the United States: direct flights launchfrom nearby airport
US Secretary of State Antony Blinken made a “nonsensical accusation” against Hungary, Péter Szijjártó, the foreign minister, said on his Facebook page on Thursday.
Szijjártó: This is nonsensical
Szijjártósaid Blinken had criticised Hungary over the freedom of religion, saying officials used “anti-Semitic tropes”.
“This accusation is especially nonsensical from the foreign minister of a country where attacks of intimidation against Jewish people have increased dramatically in the recent period and where anti-Semitic unrest has taken place at universities,” the minister said.
“Meanwhile, Israel’s national team and football clubs will play their matches in Hungary again in the next season because they feel safe here,” he said.
The defence minister said he discussed Europe’s security situation and the risks posed by the war in Ukraine with David Pressman, the US ambassador to Hungary, on Wednesday.
In a post on Facebook, Kristóf Szalay-Bobrovniczky noted that NATO is holding a summit in Washington, DC in less than two weeks. Hungary joined the military alliance that marks its 75th anniversary this year 25 years ago, the minister said.
Hungary is a committed and loyal NATO ally, Szalay-Bobrovniczky said. The country will however not contribute money, weapons or soldiers to the alliance’s coordination mission on weapons deliveries to Ukraine and military training, but will not block such efforts, either, he said.
“I informed Ambassador Pressman about the Hungarian government’s step that will affect American soldiers serving at the military air base in Pápa,” the minister said, noting that a draft legislation allowing the US soldiers to obtain Hungarian number plates in a simplified procedure would soon be launched for a public consultation.
The US Embassy also posted a summary of the meeting
FloeWater is launching crystal clear, double-filtered drinking water with unique filtration technology. The face of the new Hungarian drink will be no other than Eva Mendes!
FloeWater is launching its crystal-clear, double-filtered drinking water in 250 ml and 500 ml aluminium cans, made with unparalleled filtration technology, TV2 reports. American actress Eva Mendes immediately said yes to the new Hungarian water.
FloeWater: crystal clear water
Photo: FloeWater
FloeWater holds the title of the most popular ready-to-drink (RTD) beverage on Earth. The category is about to undergo a transformation with its new product, bottled water. The company aims to redefine the rules of beverage production, Világgazdaság writes.
The brand has also introduced a ground-breaking innovation in water treatment, taking it to a new level with the first-of-its-kind innovation, the CrystalTower process.
The launch of FloeWater in aluminium cans is one of our most significant and exciting product innovations this year, as we are using a revolutionary new filtration technology and entering a new category thanks to the pre-packaged format. Not to mention the fact that a true Hollywood star, the glamorous Eva Mendes, has become the face of the brand,” says Adrienn Popovics, Hell’s Marketing Director.
The new Hungarian water will be available from mid-June.
Businessman Donald Trump Jr, the son of the former US president, spoke about the US elections and domestic politics, as well as global politics, in his address at the Mathias Corvinus Collegium (MCC) in Budapest on Thursday.
Donald Trump Jr and Viktor Orbán on 13 June 2024. Photo: MTI/Miniszterelnöki Sajtóiroda/Fischer Zoltán
US conservative circles see Hungarian Prime Minister Viktor Orbán as a great leader who “puts Hungary first”, Donald Trump Jr said.
Donald Trump Jr touched on the US elections, domestic politics in the United States as well as world politics, including the conflict in the Middle East and the war in Ukraine.
Orbán has talks with Donald Trump Jr
Prime Minister Viktor Orbán on Thursday received Donald Trump Jr, the son of the former US president, in his offices in Budapest, the prime minister’s press chief said.
The talks focused on the future of Hungary-US ties, illegal migration, as well as options to achieve peace in the war in Ukraine.
Trump Jr came to Budapest at the invitation of the Budapest Chamber of Commerce and Industry. He is scheduled to visit the Mathias Corvinus Collegium and have talks with the institution’s leaders and students, the chamber said on its website.
After two decades, direct flights between Romania and the United States have resumed. This makes it easier for Hungarians and travellers from Hungary to reach New York.
United States one step closer to Hungary
After twenty years, direct air traffic between Romania and the United States of America has resumed, economedia.ro reports. The HiSky airline plane took off from Bucharest’s Henri Coandă International Airport on Friday morning. After a flight of about 10 hours, it will land at New York’s John F. Kennedy Airport in the afternoon.
Passengers are carried by a wide-body Airbus A 330-200. The airline will operate four flights a week between Bucharest and New York. For the transatlantic flight, the operator will provide a connection from Cluj Napoca, “Transylvania’s capital”, with a waiting time of only 1 hour and 10 minutes, according to maszol.ro.
As the portal writes, there has been no direct flight between Romania and the United States for more than 20 years, following the suspension of the Bucharest-New York route by the state-owned airline Tarom in November 2003.
HiSky is a low-cost airline registered in the Republic of Moldova. The airline has been present on the Romanian market since 2021. HiSky has two air bases: one in Cluj Napoca and one in Chișinău.
It is not a new sensation that celebrities visit our country, as several Hollywood stars have been shooting in Budapest lately. Bill Murray’s case is exceptional: he did not come to Hungary for filming, but to visit an old friend in Tököl.
Bill Murray, the Golden Globe-winning actor and comedian arrived in Hungary on Saturday. Blikk managed to make an interview with him, in which he stated that he liked Budapest very much, and since he had never visited the country before, there were several things that he found new and interesting during his trip to Hungary. The actor, who starred in the beloved Ghostbusters franchise, and award-winning movies such as Grand Budapest Hotel and Lost in Translation, arrived in Hungary in complete secrecy, apart from his hosts and the lucky ones who happened to meet him, no one knew that he was here.
Visiting an old friend
Murray’s friend, Michael Stenger and his wife, Éva live in Tököl, where they hosted the star. He told Blikk that he was working as a limousine driver in New York when he met Murray after defecting from Hungary in 1956. After that, he saw Bill more and more often, whom he took home after many of his performances, and slowly they became good friends. “I’ve known Michael for 30 years”, Murray added.
He just finished shooting a movie in Germany, so he took the opportunity and flew to Hungary to say hello to his old friend. Although Murray had promised Stenger many times before that he would visit him in Hungary, the family was really surprised when they got a message from the star that he wrote from the plane: “I’m on my way to you.”
Bill Murray is a fan of Hungarian cuisine
His friend also told Blikk in the interview that he was particularly interested in Hungarian food. He had Gypsy roast for lunch two days ago, and he really wants to try chicken paprikash next. He became a fan of Unicum too: Murray said that after drinking some of the Hungarian liquor, he instantly felt calmer and it helped him quiet his mind. He also said that he really enjoyed driving around the countryside and Budapest. They also went to a wine festival in the city and wanted to listen to Gypsy music too. Index spotted, that on Monday, he had dinner in a restaurant called Éjjeli Bagoly, and posed for photos with the crew.
Photo: PrtScr from FB / Éjjeli Bagoly Étterem és Panzió
“Bill gets up early in the morning, has a cup of coffee, then goes back to bed and sleeps for another hour or two. He doesn’t have any star behaviour: imagine that this guy has never picked cherries from a tree in his life. He did it in our garden for the first time, and ate them in a way that he was covered in cherry juice”, Stenger added.
On Monday, they visited Dörgicse and the Kaáli Car and Motorcycle Museum. He arrived with his friends in the early afternoon and found the old vehicles fascinating. He wandered for hours among the cars, listening to Professor Kaáli’s stories about the vehicles.
According to Blikk, he likes to stay out of the spotlight, but he is happy to pose for a photo together when he walks around Budapest. The actor will continue his trip to Greece on Tuesday, where he is expected to attend a golf tournament.
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Hilarious: Ryan Reynolds called Budapest the “Hawaii of Central Europe” – Read here
Péter Szijjártó, the foreign minister, said on the campaign trail in Hungary on Monday that it is clear from the examples of what has happened to Donald Trump in court and Robert Fico in a public space that pro-peace politicians face exceptional hardships in today’s world.
“They’re hunted down sometimes physically, sometimes through legal means, sometimes politically,” a ministry statement quoted Szijjarto as saying at a public forum held in Marcali, in western Hungary, referring to the former US president and the Slovakian prime minister, the latter of whom has survived an assassination attempt.
The minister also said there was a mounting danger of the war in Ukraine escalating, and he said many European leaders had been captured by “war madness”.
“While we have taken in a million refugees, western Europeans are playing war games,” he said.
Despite hundreds of billions of euros of arms shipments to Ukraine, neither side could gain the upper hand on the battlefield, he added.
Diplomacy was the only solution, he said, adding that the sooner peace talks started the better. He welcomed the upcoming peace conference in Switzerland but added it was “problematic” that Russia would not attend.
While it was important to reach for peace, doing so “with one side only” was not feasible.
Szijjarto said the Hungarian government was in the process of considering at what level to participate in the forum, “as it augurs limited hope as regards its efficacy”.
Only an outside factor could bring Russia and Ukraine to the negotiating table, “but right now no leader of the great powers is up to the task”.
He said this may change if Donald Trump won the US presidential election. He called Trump “a man of solutions” with “his two feet planted firmly on the ground” who had a better chance than ever of establishing peace.
He added that it would also help if a big turn to the right took place after this week’s European Parliament elections.
A century-old cemetery in the US state of Georgia, the final resting place for Hungarian vintners who emigrated there, was re-opened on Saturday, following a restoration undertaken with support from Hungary.
Deputy state secretary of the Prime Minister’s Office Péter Szilágyi acknowledged the Hungarian Community Church of Georgia for coordinating the restoration which was supported by the state secretariat for national policy, Bethlen Gábor Fund Management and various companies and private individuals.
Around 200 wine-making families from Hungary emigrated to the area in the west of Georgia at the invitation of an American businessman in the 1880s.
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Hello HuGo, a useful app that collects Hungarian-related places in America and builds community – Read more HERE
Prime Minister Viktor Orbán told participants of the Peace March in Budapest on Saturday that giving up on peace meant “choosing to die for the cause of Ukraine”, but “we do not want to shed blood for Ukraine, we will not go to war, and we will not die for somebody else on foreign soil”, he said.
“Our mission is to stay out of the war”
In a speech delivered on Margaret Island, Orbán endorsed the candidates of the Fidesz-Christian Democrats alliance in the European Parliament election and said that Hungary could only stay out of the war if Hungarian voters backed up the government.
“Do we want to shed Hungarian blood for Ukraine? No! We will not go to war, we will not die for somebody else on foreign soil,” Orbán said in his speech.
Addressing the Peace March, organised by the Civic Union (CÖF) and its foundation CÖKA, Orbán said it would be impossible to hide from the war, and that the only antidote to war was peace.
“Our mission is to stay out of the war and preserve Hungary as an island of peace,” Orbán said.
He said evil was behind world wars and urged people not to give in. The time for exorcism has come, he added.
“Peace” and Orbán. Photo: MTI
“Either we win or they win. There is no third way, only a third world war,” he said.
Orbán said there was no solution to the war on the battlefield and called for a ceasefire and peace talks.
Firstly, the election must be won next week, he said. An election victory and reinforcement from every country in Europe would pave the way for the establishment of a European pro-peace coalition in Brussels, he added, stating that a “transatlantic peace coalition” could be established in the autumn “if the Americans elect a pro-peace president”.
Orbán can be in majority?
We were “in the minority” at the start of the year, but could be “in the majority” by year-end, he said.
Referring to the European Parliament and local elections to be held on June 9, he said God had created the world in six days and commanded rest on the seventh, but now unfortunately “we must not rest even on the seventh day”, “we must put the pedal to the metal”. “Victory will come only if we all go to vote. Only peace! Only Fidesz!”, he added.
Orbán said there were already enough pro-war politicians in Brussels, so the candidates of Fidesz-Christian Democrats, headed by Tamas Deutsch, needed to “occupy Brussels”.
“We need our own kind there, who don’t believe in war and violence, but believe in the power of love and solidarity,” he added.
He said the 2022 victory of Fidesz-Christian Democrats in national elections had “raised the price of Hungarian shares on the political bourses of every capital in Europe”. Although those shares are in demand, they are not for sale, not to Brussels, not to Washington and not to George Soros, he added.
Orbán wished Fico speedy recovery
In a message to ethnic Hungarians in Transcarpathia, in the west of Ukraine, Orbán said the day was not far off when “your destiny will take a turn for the better”.
He also sent his regards and wished a speedy recovery to “Slovakia’s pro-peace Prime Minister” Robert Fico, adding that Fico had been shot because he stood on the side of peace, “practically giving his life for peace”. He said Fico was “carved of hard wood” and would return to put Slovakia and Hungary side by side in the fight for peace.
Orbán said the ruling parties’ victory in the European Parliament election needed to scare the Brussels bureaucrats out of their offices.
He noted that Fidesz-Christian Democrats had won all elections since the autumn of 2006, including parliamentary, local council and European elections. “We have won eleven times in one go. An absolute record, a KO, an undisputable victory,” he added.
Orbán said that the Fidesz-Christian Democrats camp was the largest, most unified and most hardened camp in all of Europe, and the ruling parties were able to campaign most successfully, theirs being the largest election army.
“Never before have so many people lined up for peace, because the only purpose of the Hungarians’ election army is to preserve peace,” he said. “We are Europe’s largest legion of peace, we are Europe’s greatest peace-preserving force,” he added.
“On the verge of a huge victory”
Orbán said the Fidesz-Christian Democrats were again “on the verge of a huge victory”.
Orbán said Fidesz had a “great chance” to score a goal, but still had to take the shot. Having a routine is an advantage in government work, but during a campaign “routine is poison, routine kills”, he added.
He said a good campaign needed a common cause and a successful campaign required heart, while passion was necessary for a winning campaign. Victory on paper doesn’t exist in politics, he added.
“Another week of hard work, the legendary Fidesz finish, and we will push the enemy off the field,” he said. He added that the task at hand was greater than ever before: to prevent Europe from rushing into war and to its ruin.
He said Europe was making preparations for war and that “every day another stretch of the road to hell is inaugurated”, pointing to initiatives involving hundreds of billions of euros for Ukraine, the deployment of nuclear weapons in the middle of Europe, the conscription of young men into a foreign army, NATO’s Ukraine mission and units of European soldiers in Ukraine.
No break on the pro-war train
“It appears that the pro-war train has no brakes, and the engine driver is insane,” he said, adding that stopping that train was at stake in the EP elections.
He said the Hungarian government knew how to do this and noted that it had earlier decoupled the “Hungarian carriage” from the pro-migration “train” and rescued Hungarian children from the hands of gender activists.
We won’t allow our children and our grandchildren to be shipped to the Ukrainian front, either, he said. “No migration, no gender, no war,” he added.
Every vote cast for Fidesz-Christian Democrats in the European Parliament election “saves lives”, he said. Every vote for Fidesz-Christian Democrats increases the weight of the pro-peace side and affirms Hungary’s decision to stay out of the war, he added.
“We can only stay out of the war if ours will be the biggest election victory in Europe,” he said.
If the left-wing wins, he added, it would only be a matter of time before the war caught up with Hungary.
Orbán said the pro-war side was “beyond common sense” and wanted to beat Russia, just as was attempted in the first and second World War, and was even ready to clash with the entire East.
Hungarians have no business on the Russian front
He likened the intoxication of war to a drug that removes all responsibility and said the pro-war side was “uninterested in the future of your children”.
“They can’t be won over, so we won’t win them over, we will defeat them,” he added.
He said the founding fathers of the EU were right in believing the continent could not bear another war. As for Hungary, “we can gain nothing in war but stand to lose everything”, he added.
He noted that the lives of one and a half million Hungarians had been lost in the first and second World War and wondered “how strong our country would be” if they hadn’t died.
“I will say it slowly, so they understand in Brussels, too: We will not enter the war. We will not march east for the third time, we will not return to the Russian front, we’ve been there before, and we have no business there,” he said.
“We will not sacrifice Hungarian youth for the profit of wartime speculators,” he added.
Orbán said that George Soros had written the “script” for a victory over Russia using Western weapons and Eastern European troops, then replacing the lives lost with migrants, 30 years earlier. He added that the Hungarian left wing were “payrolled” by Soros.
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