Free Republic

SINGAPORE: The only way to end the war between Russia and Ukraine is through negotiations, but the outcome of these talks would largely depend on who is the next United States president, said Hungarian Foreign Minister Péter Szijjártó. Mr Szijjártó, who was on a two-day visit to Singapore, believes how long the conflict drags on depends on the outcome of the US presidential election in November, where President Joe Biden and former president Donald Trump are set for a rematch. Noting that Mr Trump represents “a totally different approach”, he said: “If there's a person nowadays in international politics who...

Hungary’s foreign minister said Secretary of State Antony Blinken used the U.S. tax treaty with Hungary as leverage in negotiations about the adoption of a corporate minimum tax. The Treasury Department announced earlier this month that it is terminating its tax treaty with Hungary, a move decried by Republicans as retaliation for Hungary opposing the European Union plan, favored by the Biden administration, to adopt a 15% corporate minimum tax. The Biden administration has steered clear of saying that it canceled the deal to pressure Hungary, but Hungarian Foreign Minister Peter Szijjarto said Wednesday that Blinken had threatened to pull...

NEW YORK -- Hungary’s top diplomat, in an interview with Fox News, praised President Trump’s push for NATO partners to boost military spending -- and said the administration's treatment of Central European countries as allies represents a stark contrast from what he called the “lecturing” of the Obama years. “Since the current administration has been in power, the relationship has totally changed and the relationship is based on mutual respect which used not to be the case,” Foreign Minister Peter Szijjarto told Fox News. “So before this administration took office, ‘lecturing’ was basically the right expression to describe our relationship.”...

On the first day of a five-country European tour that will focus on opposition to the growing influence of Russia and China in Central Europe, Pompeo met with Hungary's prime minister, Viktor Orban. "We must not let Putin drive wedges between friends in NATO," Pompeo told a joint news conference in Budapest with Hungarian Foreign Minister Peter Szijjarto. Pompeo specifically pointed to Central Europe's reliance on Russian energy as well as the presence of the Chinese telecom firm Huawei, particularly in Hungary.

The newly emboldened populist wave sweeping Europe has begun to clash with establishment EU "open border" advocates, as governments opposed to illegal mass migration dig their heels in and resist the influx of mostly North African migrants. Europe has been sharply divided over asylum seekers - however words turned to action in early June when Italy's brand new Interior Minister, Matteo Salvini, closed Italian ports to Non-Government Organizations (NGO) ferrying migrants into the country. The rest of Italy's populist coalition government supported the move, fending off condemnation from "hypocritical" French President Emmanuel Macron and other EU leaders. Perfectly capturing the...

Secretary Michael Pompeo met with Hungarian Foreign Minister Peter Szijjarto in Washington on Wednesday. The two discussed areas of mutual interest and opportunities for our countries to increase cooperation. The Secretary underscored the importance of maintaining a vibrant civil society. The Secretary also emphasized the urgent need to help Ukraine in the face of Russian aggression, including the importance of facilitating and supporting Ukraine’s engagement with NATO, and the need to counter Russian malign influence in Central Europe. Both sides agreed that Europe should diversify its sources of energy and discussed increasing U.S. investment in Hungary. The Secretary and Foreign...

In defiance of European Union guidelines, Hungary will not label products from Judea, Samaria and the Golan Heights. Indeed, its foreign minister urges greater cooperation with Israel in fighting global terrorism. Speaking at a breakfast meeting of the Israel Council on Foreign Relations on Monday, Hungarian Foreign Minister and Trade Minister Peter Szijjarto, who was on a 24-hour visit to Israel, said that his country will not label products from Judea, Samaria and the Golan Heights, calling the EU’s decision to do so “irrational.” “We do not support that decision. It is an inefficient instrument. It is irrational and does...