“Events in the region of Lebanon have a direct effect on the security situation of the European Union (EU), and accordingly it is in the fundamental interests of the EU, and within it Hungary, for there to be peace and stability in the state”, Minister of Foreign Affairs and Trade Péter Szijjártó declared at a press conference in Budapest on Tuesday fallowing talks with Lebanese Foreign Minister Gibran Bassil.

“Lebanon deserves all possible respect for providing for the care of two million people who have fled from Syria. while the county’s population is only six million”, the Hungarian Minister said. “For precisely this reason, the EU must support Lebanon and the international community should concentrate on enabling the refugees to return home”, he declared. “We must refrain from ‘inspiring’ any and all processes that would result in these two million people remaining in the Middle Eastern state in the long-term or permanently”, Mr. Szijjártó declared.

“It is the government’s fundamental principle that assistance must be taken to where the trouble is, instead of bringing the trouble to where there is none”, he pointed out. “Accordingly, we are striving to support the return home of the two million refuges currently in Lebanon, which requires the creation of suitable conditions in Syria”, he added.

The Hungarian Foreign Minister said Gibran Bassil had arrived in Budapest to attend the 2nd International Conference on Christian Persecution. “Hungary is supporting Lebanon in several ways. It will soon be sending fifty soldiers to take part in the UN peacekeeping mission, meaning that a contingent of fifty-four military personnel will be serving in Lebanon, together with the four officers already there”, he stated. “The Hungarian government has already renovated thirty-three Christian churches in Lebanon at a cost of 2.5 million dollars”, Mr. Szijjártó continued, adding that during Tuesday’s meeting he and his Lebanese counterpart had agreed that Hungary will be providing 2 million dollars towards the reconstruction costs of a further thirty Christian churches.

“In view of the fact that Lebanon is playing a huge role in the fight against terrorism, the conclusion of a cooperation agreement between the two countries’ counter-terrorism authorities is also in process”, the Minister said. Mr. Szijjártó also mentioned the fact that Hungary is providing fifty scholarship places-a-year to enable Lebanese students to study at Hungarian universities.

Gibran Bassil also highlighted the importance of Lebanon’s stability. “If this is not realised, then waves of extremism could arise that could also reach Europe. Whereas more migrants should not be allowed onto the continent; the refugees must go back to their homeland”, the Lebanese Foreign Minister concluded.

Mr. Bassil emphasised the importance of the fact that nobody should persecute anybody, because that leads to instability. “Lebanon is extremely diverse, and the preservation of this model is important”, he added. “The Middle Eastern state requires reform, and this is something that Hungary understands”, Gibran Bassil said, explaining that in his opinion relations between the two countries are continuously developing.

At the event, the two foreign ministers signed a memorandum of understanding on a diplomatic exchange programme between their two ministries. Gibran Bassil was also received by Prime Minister Viktor Orbán at the Carmelite Monastery in Budapest.

(MTI)