U.S. Secretary of State Marco Rubio (right) greets Hungarian Foreign Minister Peter Szijjarto in the Conference Room at the U.S. Department of State in Washington, DC. Photo: Manuel Balce Ceneta/AP
Hungary’s Minister of Foreign Affairs and Trade Péter Szijjártó has expressed hope that the sanctions imposed on Budapest by the previous US administration under Democrat Joe Biden will be lifted. He argues that these sanctions were “clearly created for political revenge to harm Hungary and future relations between Hungary and the United States”. This was reported by The Guardian.
After his meeting with US Secretary of State Marco Rubio, Szijjártó said that he saw a convergence of positions between Budapest and Washington after Donald Trump’s return to the White House. The parties reached a consensus on sanctions policy and the situation in Ukraine. Szijjártó stressed that there are sanctions that affect Hungary’s energy security, in particular in the areas of natural gas and nuclear energy, as well as sanctions against Minister Antal Rogan.
Antal Rogan, the minister in charge of Prime Minister Viktor Orbán’s office, controls several government agencies, including the National Communications Bureau, the Government Digital Agency and the Hungarian Tourism Agency. The Biden administration has sanctioned him for alleged corruption, accusing him of using his position to enrich himself and those loyal to the Fidesz party.
Szijjártó said that Hungary had initiated the necessary legal procedures on all three issues and had received assurances from the US Secretary of State of full openness to the swift cancellation of these “retaliatory measures”.
The minister also expressed support for Donald Trump’s peace initiatives regarding the war in Ukraine. He noted that the longer the war continues near Hungary, the greater the risk of escalation. Szijjarto also said that there were “subtle intrigues” in Western Europe against Trump and his peace plan.
After Donald Trump returned to the White House, Washington resumed talks with Moscow. The two sides met in Saudi Arabia to start talks and are discussing possible economic projects. The US president is seeking a speedy end to the war in Ukraine and recently expelled Ukrainian leader Volodymyr Zelenskyy from the White House, accusing him of ingratitude, disrespect and “not being ready for peace”. In addition, Trump has ordered an end to military support for Kyiv.
Following the withdrawal of US support, Volodymyr Zelenskyy stated that “Ukraine is ready to sit down at the negotiating table as soon as possible to bring a sustainable peace closer”.
