EU foreign minister visits Russia, declares to defy all sanctions, Moscow opens up

On December 2, Russian Foreign Minister Sergei Lavrov and Hungarian Foreign Minister Peter Szijjarto held talks in Moscow to discuss bilateral and international agendas.

Russian Foreign Minister Sergei Lavrov (left) holds talks with Hungarian Foreign Minister Peter Szijjarto in Moscow on December 2. (Source: Censor)

TASS news agency quoted the Russian Foreign Ministry 's announcement as saying that the two foreign ministers highly appreciated the level of interaction between the parties in the current challenging geopolitical situation.

Speaking at the meeting, Minister Szijjarto said the Hungarian government intends to strengthen the peacekeeping mission, because "the risk of escalation in Ukraine is much higher than before".

"The past 1,000 days have proven that this war cannot be solved on the battlefield. Therefore, it can only end through negotiations. Diplomatic channels must always be open for dialogue," he said.

Calling for increased efforts to find a peaceful solution to the situation in Ukraine amid the growing risk of escalation, Hungary's top diplomat noted: "Those who close these diplomatic channels or criticize those who maintain them, in fact, do not want peace."

According to the Hungarian minister, in recent years there have been "many dangerous and irresponsible decisions" made regarding Ukraine, posing a threat to Budapest due to its geographical proximity to the conflict zone.

In addition, the head of Hungary's foreign affairs and trade sector stressed that Budapest has another "absolutely clear goal: to develop relations with Russia in all areas subject to sanctions".

For his part, Russian Foreign Minister Lavrov said: "There are quite a few initiatives being put forward by countries on every continent, which stem from a genuine desire to establish peace. The recent peace tour of Hungarian Prime Minister Viktor Orban is an example. We are ready to consider all of them."

According to him, Russia fully agrees that those who have the right stance are those who advocate peace, and those who believe that it is necessary to fight until someone suffers a strategic defeat on the battlefield are not reflecting the interests of their own country.

Affirming Moscow's stance based on the will of the people after Kiev passed a law to eliminate the rights of Russian speakers, Lavrov stressed that without eliminating this root cause, there is no other way to resolve the crisis.

Source: https://baoquocte.vn/ngoai-truong-mot-nuoc-eu-den-tham-nga-tuyen-bo-thach-thuc-moi-lenh-trung-phat-moscow-trai-long-295946.html