If we fail to protect Europe’s borders, we jeopardise the foundations of the very existence of Europe, the Minister of State for International Communication and Relations said on the Thursday evening programme of the public service television news channel M1.

Evaluating the Budapest talks of Hungarian Prime Minister Viktor Orbán and Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan, Zoltán Kovács pointed out that without Turkey migration cannot be stopped.

He said there are limits to Turkey’s patience and efforts.

If Turkey and other countries do not make attempts to take people back to their own homes, if they open the gates in the direction of Europe, that would have unforeseeable consequences. Hungary has reinforced the protection of its borders, a fence has been built, it has also reinforced the “legal border closure”; however, no one would like to experience again what happened in 2015, he added.

The message that Hungary is able to protect its borders also conveys the message that we are committed to the Schengen Agreement, the Government Spokesperson pointed out, observing that “we worked hard” for many long years in order to gain admission to the Schengen system. If, however, Turkey opens its gates towards Europe, the possibility of free movement will also be in jeopardy.

The Government Spokesperson highlighted that the Hungarian government’s guiding principle is that “in the Berlin-Moscow-Ankara triangle” we must maintain good relations with all three great powers.

(MTI)