“The European pillar of the North Atlantic Alliance must be reinforced, because it leads to nowhere id we always expect the United States to defend us if there is trouble; we must also be in possession of sufficient capacities”, Minister of Foreign Affairs and Trade Péter Szijjártó said at an international NATO parliamentary conference held in Hungary’s Parliament Building.
Mr. Szijjártó highlighted the fact that the security environment is fundamentally determined by four things: the future of relations between NATO and Russia, the fight against the Islamic State, the effects of America’s new foreign policy and the stability of the situation in the Middle East and North Africa, and these factors are all interconnected.
“Relations between NATO and Russia must be pragmatic and based on mutual respect; this is the only path to true peace and stability in the region”, the Foreign Minister explained. “Central Europe knows full well that when East and West had a bad relationship then it was usually our region which suffered as a result”, he pointed out.
Mr. Szijjártó called for an agreement between the United Stated and Russia with regard to the situation in the Middle East and North Africa. “If the two countries cannot agree on the correct path to peace and stability then there will be no peace in Syria and immigration pressure will not end either”, he explained.
“Hungary is a committed member of the international coalition to fight the Islamic State and will continue its current role”, the Foreign Minister stated.
On the future foreign policy of the United States, he said “there is not much point in generating hysteria”; we must wait and see what happens and respect the decision of the American people. “We hope that the current level of economic and defence cooperation will be maintained and that political cooperation moves into a new and better dimension”, he said.
“Hungary is a committed supporter of cooperation between the EU and NATO, and NATO should play a role in the battle to reduce immigration pressure, because ensuring that the EU is capable of meeting this challenge is a question of security”, Mr. Szijjártó noted.
Mr. Szijjártó also spoke about the fact that NATO expansion cannot end with the membership of Montenegro. “Macedonia and Georgia also deserve to be accepted as members of the Alliance and that would also serve to reinforce NATO”, he explained.
“The implementation of the decisions made at the NATO summits in Wales and Warsaw cannot wait; if the community hesitates then we will have lost our chance to handle the major current challenges”, the Foreign Minister stressed. Among these challenges Mr. Szijjártó mentioned the war in Ukraine, the Islamic State, the increasing threat of terrorism, energy security and the issue of cybersecurity, in addition to the events taking place in Europe’s southern and south-eastern neighbourhood. “These would pose a serious challenge individually, but now we must face them together”, he pointed out.
Vice-President of the NATO Parliamentary Assembly Lord Jopling stressed: The Alliance must currently face many more challenges than usual, and while its duties have multiplied its must also continue to fulfil its old responsibilities, such as for instance continuing its activities in the Western Balkans and Afghanistan.
“NATO made important decisions in the interests of handling these challenges as its last two summits”, he recalled. Lord Jopling said that in his opinion in light of the American presidential election there is greater pressure on European allies to provide a suitable contribution to NATO, otherwise trans-Atlantic unity could begin to erode.
According to the Vice-President of the NATO Parliamentary Assembly, Brexit does not change the fact that Great Britain is a committed member of the Alliance. Lord Jopling also commended the work Hungary has performed as a member of the Alliance.
(Ministry of Foreign Affairs and Trade/MTI)
