‘Civilised East-West cooperation’ in Hungary’s interest, minister says

The world is facing a number of serious security challenges, Szijjarto said, adding that “the global security situation has perhaps not been this bad since the end of the Cold War.”

“The world was once divided into blocs because of East-West relations turning hostile, which turned out very badly for us, Hungarians,” the minister said.

“Our interest lies in there being civilised cooperation between East and West, as that is something that benefits Hungary,” he said. “The basis of civilised cooperation is dialogue, and dialogue requires communication channels. If those are shut down, we destroy the possibility of peaceful coexistence.”

Szijjarto said this was the reason why Thursday’s ministerial council meeting of the Organization for Security and Cooperation in Europe (OSCE) in Skopje was especially important, noting that it was also set to be attended by his US and Russian counterparts.

“It would be good if they talked to each other more often, because that would give hope for a more peaceful future,” the minister said.