Hungary’s Minister of Foreign Affairs and Trade Peter Szijjarto has blasted Western sanctions against Russia.
Speaking at the Sasakawa Peace Foundation in Tokyo on Tuesday, he said that his view contradicts the "liberal mainstream" in Europe but is in line with the opinion of the global majority.
Szijjarto recalled that when EU members initially discussed the first package of anti-Russian sanctions more than two years ago, he wondered what the purpose of these restrictions would be. According to him, he was told that the goal was "to push Russia to its knees economically" in order to end the Ukraine conflict.
"Is Russia on its knees? Far from it. Are we close to ending the conflict? Definitely not," the Hungarian foreign minister emphasized, adding that anti-Russian sanctions had an adverse impact on the EU economy.
He went on to point out the fact that some Western countries that boast about “getting rid of Russian energy resources” are, in fact, purchasing them indirectly. The minister cited oil supplies from India as an example.
“We are now discussing a 14th package [of anti-Russian sanctions]. Don’t you get it? You failed at something 13 times over, and now you’re trying to do it for a 14th time,” he emphasized.
Statements on Sending Troops to Ukraine Are ‘Crazy’
Szijjarto touched upon divisive rhetoric some European officials have indulged in when bringing up a potential deployment of Western troops to Ukraine.
"If you look at the European political arena, you will see more and more crazy statements made by leading European politicians," he said, noting that such statements are becoming "increasingly dangerous" and raising the risk of the Ukraine conflict escalating.
He called to do "everything to avoid a direct confrontation between NATO and Russia."
Speaking about the danger of such a development, the minister stressed that "there is no way the Hungarian military will take part in it [sending troops to Ukraine], there is no way Hungarian territory will host such actions, there is no way a single eurocent of the Hungarian taxpayers will be allocated for it."