On Friday, the Polish Minister of Foreign Affairs, Radosław Sikorski, held talks with the Hungarian Foreign Minister, Péter Szijjártó, as announced in a statement released by the Polish Ministry of Foreign Affairs on December 15. The statement noted that the discussion took place as part of "another round of talks with counterparts around the world." The ministers discussed various topics, including the prospects for cooperation within the Visegrád Group (V4), the migration crisis, and issues related to Ukraine. The Hungarian Minister of Foreign Affairs, Péter Szijjártó, invited the Polish Minister, Radosław Sikorski, to make an official visit to Hungary. Péter Szijjártó announced that Radosław Sikorski has accepted the invitation.
Hungarian Minister of Foreign Affairs and Trade Péter Szijjártó. Photo by PAP/Tomasz Gzell
"The Hungarian foreign minister congratulated Minister Sikorski on his reappointment to office. The two diplomats noted with satisfaction that they are most likely the longest-serving foreign ministers among the EU countries" - the Polish Ministry of Foreign Affairs stated in press release.
Radosław Sikorski: “It is in Poland’s interest that Putin does not conquer Ukraine"
The foreign ministers of Poland and Hungary discussed the prospects of cooperation within the Visegrád Group (V4). According to the Polish Ministry of Foreign Affairs, "both ministers agreed that the Visegrad Group can be a useful tool for multilateral contacts".
The statement also highlighted that during the Friday meeting, Minister Radosław Sikorski appreciated the "positive approach" of Hungarian authorities "towards the issue of starting accession negotiations by Ukraine and Moldova regarding membership in the European Union, despite many doubts expressed by Budapest." He also emphasized that from the Polish perspective, "the most important matter is to support Kyiv." "It is in Poland's interest for Putin not to conquer Ukraine," noted the Polish foreign minister.
Péter Szijjártó: "we agree on more things than we thought."
The Hungarian Minister of Foreign Affairs and Trade, Péter Szijjártó, emphasized that his country fully supports Ukraine's right to sovereignty and the integrity of its territory. At the same time, the head of Hungarian diplomacy "drew attention to the situation of the Hungarian minority in Ukraine and then focused on the issues of mass migration to Europe."
The conversation with the Polish Minister of Foreign Affairs was briefly summarized on Facebook by the Hungarian Minister of Foreign Affairs as well. "I wished him success because the success of our sister Poland is also in the interest of Hungary," wrote Péter Szijjártó in the post, noting that during the twenty-minute conversation, it turned out that "we agree on more things than we thought." "We both consider the Visegrád Group important, and we believe that its effective operation can help us achieve our overriding national interests. We agreed on the importance of border protection. I also informed my new colleague that our southern border is constantly under attack, and that this year alone, we have already stopped 200,000 illegal immigrants. We also agreed that the rights of national minorities should be respected, and that this is one of the European values that we should uphold under all circumstances," wrote the Hungarian Minister of Foreign Affairs.
On the previous day, Thursday, December 14, the Hungarian Minister of Foreign Affairs and Trade, Péter Szijjártó, congratulated Radosław Sikorski on his reappointment as the head of Polish diplomacy in a post on social media. The Hungarian minister also declared, "I am ready for cooperation," while simultaneously sharing a photo from a debate at the University of Oxford in 2018. In the photo, Péter Szijjártó is visible among 24 individuals, including the head of Polish diplomacy. "Once in my life, I wore a tuxedo, and once in my life, I met Radosław Sikorski," emphasized the Hungarian Minister of Foreign Affairs and Trade, Péter Szijjártó.
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