The war between Russia and Ukraine, as well as the conflict in the Middle East, risk escalating and to “undermine global security at any moment”, warned Hungarian Foreign Minister Peter Szijjarto on the sidelines of the Summit of the Future at the UN headquarters in New York.
In his speech on the sidelines of the meeting on Monday, Mr. Szijjarto stressed that humanity is facing two potentially catastrophic scenarios: a third world war or a return to bloc divisions, Tasnim News reports.
Mr. Szijjarto expressed his concern about how the concept of “peace” has been misused in international politics.
He asked the open question whether the global community can avoid this bleak outlook, and whether the majority who claim to be in favor of peace can ensure that the word “peace” itself is not used as a “dirty word in international politics”.
The Foreign Minister also criticized how peace advocates in Europe are met with resistance and stigmatization, especially in relation to the conflict in Ukraine.
– European politicians usually argue in favor of diplomacy and peaceful solutions to certain wars if they are far away from Europe, but nowadays, unfortunately, a war is going on in Europe, and those who argue in favor of peace are immediately stigmatized, attacked and criticized, he said, highlighting that diplomatic solutions should be the focus.
‘Peace’ has become a swear word – Hungarian FM
Hungarian FM Peter Szijjarto says that those calling for diplomatic solutions are being stigmatized, attacked and criticized while the word ‘peace’ has become a curse word in international politicshttps://t.co/aLP8sHX9IB pic.twitter.com/oQqhdZaXcr— Forbidden News (@NewsForbiddenX) September 24, 2024
“Peace efforts unacceptable”
Szijjarto highlighted that those calling for diplomacy are often accused of being “Putin’s puppets and Russian spies”, despite the fact that Europe itself is helping to intensify the conflict.
He argued that the international political system needs to undergo a fundamental change, with the UN as a key actor in this process.
– Diplomacy should provide the tools for international policy-making, which should be based on dialogue… We must cease attempts to discredit those arguing for peace.
Unlike many EU countries, Hungary has consistently refused to send arms to Ukraine and has repeatedly criticized the Union’s sanctions against Russia.
In July, Prime Minister Viktor Orbán launched a diplomatic peace mission to mediate between Moscow and Kiev. However, the initiative was met with harsh criticism from several quarters within the EU.
EU foreign affairs chief Josep Borrell stressed that the Hungarian prime minister “did not represent the EU in any form”. European Council President Charles Michel called the peace mission “a problem ‘ and stressed that Orbán’s peace effort was “unacceptable”.
