Following talks with Czech Minister of Foreign Affairs Lubomír Zaorálek in Prague, Minister of Foreign Affairs and Trade Péter Szijjártó declared that, in relation to the Ukrainian crisis, Hungary will adhere to the common EU position in opposition to Russia.

The Hungarian foreign minister paid a working visit to Prague on Tuesday, where in answer to a question he declared that „Hungary has always participated in adopting the EU’s common position. We have always stood by joint European decisions. This is how it has been, and this is how it will be”.

He emphasised that the EU’s main strength is its unity, which must not be undermined by anyone. At a press conference following the talks Mr. Zaorálek also emphasised that „It is my firm belief that Budapest’s stance on the eastern conflict does not differ fundamentally from those of either Prague or the European Union”.

Mr. Szijjártó noted that only a peaceful resolution of the Ukrainian crisis can be acceptable. Ukraine is one of Hungary’s neighbouring countries, Hungary receives natural gas and oil through Ukraine and a Hungarian minority of 150,000 people lives there. „We do not want them to live in a country in which there is a war. Therefore we want there to be peace in Ukraine; we want a strong and stable Ukraine”, he stressed.

The issue of TTIP – the proposed free trade agreement between the US and the EU – was also a topic of their talks, Mr. Szijjártó confirmed. Mr. Zaorálek explained that „the Czech Republic wants to wait for the result of the negotiations and then declare its official position. […] We agree that the treaty should also be reinforced at national level”.

Concerning genetically-modified American food products, Mr. Zaorálek said that there are other more important issues in the agreement on which a decision has to be made. He said that personally he agrees with President Milos Zeman, who a couple of days ago announced that he would not oppose the import of genetically-modified food products.

The Hungarian minister stated however that „Hungary rejects genetically-modified food products. This is laid down in our constitution”.

At the Czech Ministry of Industry and Trade two cooperation agreements were signed in the presence of the two ministers: one was between the Czech and Hungarian engineering clusters, and the other between Híd Zrt. and Klement a.s. on joint participation in Czech and third-country tenders. Following this event, Mr. Szijjártó attended the opening of the first MOL petrol station in the Czech Republic, where he also met the leadership of MOL.

As part of a working breakfast the Hungarian minister held talks with Deputy Prime Minister of the Czech Republic and Minister of Finance Andrej Babiš, and in the afternoon he met Jan Mládek, Minister of Industry and Trade. At the end of his visit Mr. Szijjártó was also received by Czech prime minister Bohuslav Sobotka.

((Ministry of Foreign Affairs and Trade/MTI))