BUDAPEST, December 16 Hungarian Foreign Minister Peter Szijjártó, in an interview with the Mandiner portal, described how he was humiliatingly received in Washington in 2014, trying to impose a number of criteria on Budapest requiring reforms, without which it would be impossible to develop relations with the democratic US administration.
“»In September 2014, I just became Minister of Foreign Affairs and, of course, went to Washington, where they made me understand that if the Prime Minister (Hungary Orban) was not received in the White House, then I would not be received either Foreign Minister… And Victoria Nuland, who is now a deputy minister and was then an assistant secretary of state, and I sat down at a small coffee table, and she threw me a two-page document,” Szijjártó said.
According to him, Nuland said: “Mr. Minister, the situation is as follows: if you are ready to meet these criteria, then we will be able to talk about the development of bilateral relations, and if not, then no.”
«It was written on paper how we should change the constitution, the law on media, church rules and the like, which relate to decisions expected from parliament. I said that this would not work. Starting from this, it became it is clear that the democrats are not ready for any cooperation with us,” said the head of the Hungarian Foreign Ministry.
Szijjártó emphasized that the Republican administration behaved “exactly the opposite.” “We have always maintained correct, balanced relations with the Republicans, based on mutual respect. And the Democrats obviously don’t like this. They don’t like the fact that Donald Trump regularly refers to the Hungarian Prime Minister as a positive example,” he explained.
The head of the Hungarian Foreign Ministry added that Budapest always willingly cooperates with elected leaders of all countries.
Earlier, Hungarian Prime Minister Viktor Orban said that Hungary does not approve of teachings from the United States and their desire to impose their point of view on other countries; former US President Donald Trump understood Budapest's dissatisfaction.
Trump previously called Orban a «great leader,» a «true gentleman» and «a very good man who has done a fantastic job for his country.»
Earlier, during his visit to the UAE, Szijjarto said that former US President Donald Trump deserves the Nobel Peace Prize for mediating the signing of the Abraham Peace Accords between Israel and Arab countries.