On Sunday, Nov. 17, U.S. President Joe Biden gave Ukraine permission to use U.S.-supplied Atacms missiles to strike targets in Russia, which they proceeded to do on Nov. 19. During a meeting with his Russian counterpart Sergei Lavrov in Moscow on Monday, Dec. 2, Szijjártó stressed that the risk of escalation of the war is more serious than ever before.
“There have been many dangerous and irresponsible decisions made in the recent past that for a country neighboring Ukraine, such as Hungary, pose particular threats,” he said in a video posted on his Facebook page.
According to the foreign minister, the past 1,000 days have shown that the war could not be resolved on the battlefield but only through negotiations, for which “the channels of diplomacy have to be kept open.” He added, “Those who close those diplomatic channels or attack those who keep them open do not really want peace.”
Upon returning to Hungary later that evening, Szijjártó addressed a National Consultation event in Pécs (195 km southwest of Budapest), saying that Trump’s victory in the U.S. presidential election had brought peaceful resolution to the war closer. However, the danger of escalation had also grown, “due to the measures of the outgoing Washington administration that ignore the will of the people.”
Following a meeting of NATO foreign ministers in Brussels on Wednesday, Dec. 4, Szijjártó said that NATO’s collective defense should not be sacrificed or risked for any third country.
“So, it’s gratifying that no decision to invite Ukraine to join the defense alliance has been taken, as this could lead to a third world war,” he said. Szijjártó argued that Ukraine is “fighting for its own freedom [and] sovereignty […] which should be applauded but not confused with the idea that they are fighting for others.”
According to the foreign minister, the idea that Ukraine would enhance Europe’s security as a part of NATO was “nonsense,” and argued that it only risked war between NATO and Russia. Citing Article 10 of the Washington Treaty, which states that only countries that can contribute to NATO’s security could be invited to join, he said this wasn’t currently the case with Ukraine.
Later that same day in Washington, D.C., Szijjártó reiterated that an end to the conflict in Ukraine seemed closer than ever due to Trump’s victory, but “the outgoing U.S. administration is trying to make brokering peace after Jan. 20 impossible.” He believes that the desire of American voters to end the war was reflected in the election results.
“It is no coincidence that the issue of the war in Ukraine, whether to end it or continue it, was one of the most important questions in the U.S. presidential campaign, and while Donald Trump said clearly he wanted to end the war, Kamala Harris fought for continuing it.”
This article was first published in the Budapest Business Journal print issue of December 13, 2024.
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