Diplomacy

Hungary's government is doing everything possible to make sure Romania joins the European Union's passport-free Schengen area before the end of the Hungarian EU presidency, Foreign Minister Peter Szijjarto said in Bucharest on Tuesday.

David Pressman, the US ambassador to Budapest, is "a leading figure of the Hungarian opposition", and his statements must be handled as such, the foreign minister said on Thursday.

Tibor Navracsics, the minister of public administration and regional development, praised Finland's regional development on Thursday after discussing the EU's competitiveness and the future of its cohesion policy during a three-day visit to the northern European country.

US State Secretary Antony Blinken on Tuesday greeted Hungary, marking the country's national holiday.

Levente Magyar, a state secretary of the foreign ministry, has met the US deputy national security adviser for European affairs in Washington, DC, to discuss the future of bilateral ties.

Hungary welcomes Italian Prime Minister Giorgia Meloni's recent visit to Beijing and her talks with Chinese President Xi Jinping, the foreign minister said on Wednesday.

Foreign Minister Peter Szijjarto said late on Monday that he had great respect for Polish diplomacy, so it was "bad to watch it sinking into a mud of lies".

"Hungary's peace mission is causing huge frustration across Europe," Foreign Minister Peter Szijjarto said in an interview published by the Swiss weekly Weltwoche on Wednesday.

Hungary and Slovakia have jointly initiated a consultation procedure at the European Union against Ukraine in connection with an "unexpected and unfriendly move" which involved partially halting crude oil supplies, Foreign Minister Peter Szijjarto said on Monday.

Hungary will provide Georgia with all support to protect its sovereignty and accelerate that country's European Union integration, Foreign Minister Peter Szijjarto said after talks with his Georgian counterpart, Ilia Darchiashvili, in Budapest on Friday.