Hungarian Foreign Minister meets Russian counterpart in US to discuss Ukraine

Hungarian Foreign Minister Peter Szijjarto has met with his Russian counterpart Sergei Lavrov in New York. Source: European Pravda with reference to the press service of the Russian Foreign Ministry Details: The Russian authority said that the meeting took place "on the sidelines" of the High-level Political Forum on Sustainable Development.

The Russian Foreign Ministry said that Szijjarto and Lavrov discussed "the implementation of the agreements" reached by Kremlin leader Vladimir Putin and Hungarian Prime Minister Viktor Orban in Moscow on 5 July.

At the meeting, the Russian Foreign Ministry said, the head of Hungarian diplomacy and Lavrov discussed Ukraine-related matters. "We exchanged views on current international issues, including the situation around Ukraine. We stressed the inadmissibility of Kyiv's gross violation of the rights of national minorities living in the country," the Russian ministry said.

The Russian Foreign Ministry also added that "despite the extremely difficult international situation", cooperation between Hungary and Russia continues to "progressively develop".

Szijjarto and Lavrov reaffirmed "the importance of implementing major joint economic projects, including landmark areas of energy cooperation". Lavrov arrived in the US as Russia currently holds the presidency of the UN Security Council. On Tuesday, Russia convened a meeting in the Security Council on "multilateral cooperation for a more just, democratic and sustainable world order." Szijjarto was the only EU minister to attend the meeting.

Background:

• Hungary appears to be the only EU member state that did not sign a joint statement criticising the Russian Federation's behaviour in the United Nations Security Council. 
• Szijjarto is the only EU foreign minister who has maintained close relations with the Russian and Belarusian foreign ministers since Russia's full-scale invasion.
• The European Union's legal service has determined that Hungarian Prime Minister Viktor Orban's talks with Russian leader Vladimir Putin during his trip to Russia last week contravene EU treaties.

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