Hungary to participate in Ukraine's peace summit
Hungarian Foreign Minister Peter Szijjarto confirmed his participation at Ukraine's peace summit while visiting St. Petersburg for the International Economic Forum, the Hungarian news outlet Telex reported on June 6, writes The Kyiv Independent.
The peace summit will be held in Switzerland on June 15-16, with 107 countries and international organizations confirming their participation as of this week.
Szijjarto previously voiced hesitation regarding participation in the global peace summit as Russia would not be present.
Hungary favors peace and will participate in any event where peace is on the agenda, Szijjarto said, adding that he regrets that not all warring states will participate in the event.
"We believe that real results would be achieved if everyone was at the negotiating table," Szijjarto said.
"This is not the case this time. But as we respect the peace efforts of the Swiss, we will participate at the foreign minister level."
During the forum in St. Petersburg, the foreign minister also claimed that Hungary was one of the European countries worst affected by the war in Ukraine, referring to energy supplies.
Energy prices have skyrocketed, with the annual cost of Hungarian imports rising from 7 billion ($7.6 billion) to 17 billion euros ($18.5 billion), while a 10 billion euros ($10.8 billion) difference represents 6% of gross domestic product, according to Szijjarto.
Budapest has repeatedly opposed Ukraine's accession to NATO and the EU, sanctions on Russia, undermined Western aid efforts for Ukraine, and maintained close relations with Moscow throughout the full-scale war.
In mid-May, Hungary vetoed a resolution in the Council of Europe to officially recognize and support President Volodymyr Zelensky's 10-point peace formula, which is to be discussed during the upcoming summit.
