Dialogue and connectivity are needed instead, he told a forum of the UN Economic Commission for Europe (UNECE) dealing with sustainable development. Szijjártó slammed moves to break East-West economic ties, arguing that severing cooperation between Europe and China would “knock out” the European economy. He insisted that large Western car manufacturers involved in electromobility were highly dependent on Eastern partners. The cost of the war in Ukraine was also evident in skyrocketing food and energy prices and a big dent to European competitiveness, he said.
With constant arms deliveries and nuclear threats, the risk of the war’s escalation was greater than ever, he said, adding that the consequences would be felt “in our immediate vicinity”, with further victims of the war within the Transcarpathian Hungarian community, too. The minister said that saving lives was a top priority for Hungary, and for this to happen, peace must be created.
Szijjártó called for “rationality and common sense” in solving problems instead of “ideological and dogmatic approaches”.