Szijjarto meets Russian deputy foreign minister

Budapest, November 20 (MTI) – Peter Szijjarto, Hungary’s foreign minister, met Russian Deputy Foreign Minister Vladimir Titov for talks on migration, the Syrian situation and energy, in Budapest on Friday.

Szijjarto said after the talks that the threat of terrorism in Europe has reached an unprecedented level and that the 6,000-10,000 migrants entering Europe unchecked on a daily basis pose a serious security risk to the continent.

It is now clear that terrorist groups take advantage of the migrant crisis and send fighters to Europe, Szijjarto said, adding that the majority of migrants originate from countries with which Europe is at war.

Szijjarto called it shocking that certain European politicians still favour the concept of open borders and continue to say that it has positive effects. “How many more casualties or terrorist attacks do we need to get European politicians to do something about protecting the borders instead of just talking about it?”

Szijjarto said one of the reasons why his talks with Titov were particularly important was that Russia has joined the campaign to stabilise Syria, stressing that Russia’s efforts are crucial for resolving the crisis. He expressed hope that Russia and the transatlantic alliance will soon agree on cooperating in stabilising Syria.

The minister said Europe’s interests lie in bringing an end to the fighting in Syria and starting peace talks, adding that it is currently “pointless” to talk about who would lead the country once peace has been restored.

Szijjarto reiterated that Hungary rejects the idea of a mini-Schengen, which would exclude central European countries from the bloc. Szijjarto said the countries that speak of establishing an exclusive club are the ones that have up until now spoken up for open borders. Hungary is currently the only country that complies with Schengen rules, he said.

Concerning the subject of energy, “it is not too difficult to notice that the European Union picks energy projects to thwart on a political basis”. He insisted that Hungary’s contracts concerning an upgrade of the Paks nuclear plant fully complied with all national and European rules.

On Europe’s economic challenges, the minister said that the continent is falling behind in global competition and that it is clear that it will not regain its former level of competitiveness unless it establishes pragmatic cooperation with Russia and the Eurasian Economic Union. Szijjarto said that due to the EU’s sanctions and the ensuing Russian embargo, Hungarian companies have lost export opportunities worth about 2.5 billion US dollars during the last two years.

Titov said Hungary and Russia do not have any unresolved political issues in their bilateral ties, which allows the two countries to continue to pursue cooperation and further results. Asked whether Russia has any terms for cooperating in resolving the Syrian conflict, Titov said that cooperation must begin without setting any conditions. He said Russia will continue to advocate a solution in which the ruling government and the opposition establish a temporary body to define Syria’s constitutional and political system.

On another subject, Szijjarto said that no Hungarians have been reported among victims of Friday’s hostage drama in Mali.

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