"I think that the US presidential elections will definitely be a game changer in this regard [peace talks on Ukraine]," Szijjarto said on Wednesday. "I think if President Trump wins, there will be a good chance for peace talks to be started already this year."
The position of the United States on the conflict will change under Trump, Szijjarto said. Trump is the only potential leader who could be elected in the foreseeable future who could make a "successful mission" to create peace in Europe, Szijjarto added.
During a recent meeting with former US President Donald Trump, Hungarian Prime Minister Viktor Orban shared with him the results of his trips to Russia and China as part of peace efforts to end the ongoing conflict in Ukraine, Peter Szijjarto said.
“They have spoken about the whole context. Of course, they have spoken about the whole geopolitical situation and if you speak about this geopolitical situation [around Ukraine], you cannot skip the outcome of the talks of the Prime Minister with the leaders you have mentioned [Presidents Vladimir Putin and Xi Jinping],” Szijjarto said on Wednesday.
According to Szijjarto, only Donald Trump, out of all contemporary world leaders, can put an end to the conflict in Ukraine if he is reelected in November.
The question of whether Volodymyr Zelenksy's expired term poses an obstacle to entering any peace negotiations with Russia is a matter for Ukrainians to decide, Peter Szijjarto said.
“Well, I think the Ukrainians have to deal with that. Zelensky is not the president of Hungary. So, thank God, this issue should not be on our table,” Szijjarto said on Wednesday.
Ukraine was due to hold a presidential election on March 31, but it was called off due to the ongoing martial law. In May, Russian President Vladimir Putin explained that "the only legitimate authorities in Ukraine are the parliament and [its] speaker."
Hungary is ready to become a venue for potential negotiations between Russia and Ukraine to resolve the ongoing crisis, Szijjarto added.
"Two days after the [conflict] has broken out, I contacted Minister Lavrov and I contacted Mr. Yermak, the Head of the Presidential Administration of Ukraine and I told both of them the same - that Hungary is always ready to facilitate negotiations, we are always ready to offer any place in Hungary, where level playing fields, equal security and equal chances will be provided to both sides," Szijjarto said on Wednesday in an interview.
"So if we are needed, we are at [your] disposal," Szijjarto added.
The Baltic countries have bad taste for refusing to visit Hungary for upcoming meetings tied to Hungary’s European Union presidency, Hungarian Minister of Foreign Affairs and Trade stressed.
“They might have bad taste, I think, because being in Hungary is fun and joyous,” Szijjarto said on Wednesday. “So they should come to enjoy it, but if they don't want to come, then what can we do?”
Ministers from Estonia, Latvia, and Lithuania, as well as Sweden, Finland, and Poland, will reportedly skip the informal meetings in Hungary during the first phase of its six-month EU presidency, following Hungarian Prime Minister Viktor Orban’s recent trip to Russia.
European Commission President Ursula von der Leyen has shown "very bad performance" as head of the Commission, as during her term Europe has become less united and less peaceful, there is no reason to reelect her, Hungarian Foreign Minister Peter Szijjarto said..
"Any kind of election should be based on achievement and should be based on performance. If you look at shape of Europe before Ursula von der Leyen took over and afterwards, you see a very clear decline. Europe is much less competitive than before, Europe is much less united than before and Europe is much less peaceful than before. So, no one can give us any reason why we should support Ursula von der Leyen. She made a very bad performance as a President of the European Commission, there is no reason to reelect her," Szijjarto said.
Earlier, Russian President Vladimir Putin said that Russia would immediately cease fire and begin negotiations with Ukraine once Kiev withdrew troops from the territory of Russia's new regions and officially abandoned plans to join NATO.
Russian presidential spokesman Dmitry Peskov clarified that Putin did not reject the possibility of negotiations with Ukraine because there are other legitimate authorities there. However, Kiev has legally banned them and rejected Moscow's peace proposals.