The Minister of Foreign Affairs of Hungary, Pēters Szijarto, visited Minsk, the capital of Belarus, on Monday to call for peace talks between Russia and Ukraine.
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“Hungary expects all members of the international community to act for peace as soon as possible and to avoid actions that risk prolonging or escalating the war,” Szijártó said in a Facebook post.
Hungarian Prime Minister Viktor Orbán, who maintained close relations with both Russian President Vladimir Putin and Belarusian leader Alexander Lukashenko prior to Russia’s invasion of Ukraine, is refusing to send weapons to Ukraine, calling instead for an immediate ceasefire and the start of peace talks.
Russia’s close ally Belarus allowed Moscow to use its territory as a bridgehead for the invasion of Ukraine on February 24 of last year.
“Obviously, many people will attack the visit, but our position is clear: the channels of communication must be open,” declared Sijarto, who met with his Belarusian counterpart Sergey Aleinik. “Without communication channels there is no negotiation, without negotiation there is no peace.”
