All Hungarian soldiers serving in Iraq are safe and sound, the Ministry of Defence and the general staff are continuously monitoring the grave situation that has arisen and are ready to immediately perform any operation deemed necessary by the leaders of the Global Coalition to Defeat Isis.

Minister of Foreign Affairs and Trade Péter Szijjártó stressed that Hungary’s interest in the Middle East is the successful avoidance of the escalation of the current situation and its development into an even more serious conflict.
He highlighted the fact that the four employees of the Hungarian Consulate General in Erbil are also well, and their security situation is also being continuously monitored.
Hungary’s Ambassador to Baghdad is currently in Hungary in view of the fact that the British Embassy that hosts the Hungarian Embassy has requested that he does not return to his post yet, the Minister explained.
Mr. Szijjártó told the press that on Friday in Brussels he will be taking part in an emergency meeting of EU foreign ministers, where he plans to raise the issue that the European Union must also contribute to preventing the escalation of the situation because, as he explained, “the security of the Middle East and Europe are strongly related”.
The Minister also said that Hungary is continuously representing itself at the NATO headquarters in Brussels, where meetings and briefings are being held at ambassador level regarding the situation that has developed.
Mr. Szijjártó said it was a worrying development that the international nuclear agreement known as the Iranian Nuclear Deal is now further than ever from being successfully concluded.
The Hungarian Foreign Minister pointed out that according to the National Assembly’s decision a maximum of 200 Hungarian soldiers may be deployed in Iraq, mainly at the base in Erbil and within the framework of the Global Coalition to Defeat Isis.

(MTI)