The Hungarian Minister of Foreign Affairs, Péter Szijjártó, stated that he discusses with his counterparts from Russia, Serbia, Israel, the United States, and Turkey both before and after EU meetings on foreign policy issues.
“I discuss not only with the Russian foreign minister, but also with those from the USA, Turkey, Israel, Serbia, and our other partners, both before and after the meetings of the Council of the European Union,” Szijjártó declared on Monday evening at an electoral rally, according to News.ro.
He added that “the situation is that in the European Union many decisions are made that influence Hungary’s relations and cooperation with other countries outside the EU”
“This is what foreign policy is about. It may sound harsh, but diplomacy means discussing with the leaders of other countries.”
On Tuesday, the spokesperson for the Russian Ministry of Foreign Affairs, Maria Zakharova, intervened in the scandal regarding the alleged leaks of information from within the European Union, defending the Hungarian government.
“First and foremost, we must acknowledge the merits of its (Hungary’s) leaders, who have sincerely stated over the years that they do not follow the directives of Russia or anyone else, that they defend the interests of their country and act in the best interest of their people,” Maria Zakharova affirmed in a statement for the TASS agency, quoted by Agerpres.
On Monday, the European Commission described as “very worrying” the reports that Peter Szijjarto might have disclosed to Moscow details from the confidential discussions of the EU foreign ministers.