Szijjarto: Countries should seek cooperation rather than sanctions

Countries should seek cooperation rather than sanctions, Hungarian Minister of Foreign Affairs and Trade Peter Szijjarto told the media following a meeting of the Belarusian-Hungarian intergovernmental commission on economic cooperation in Minsk on 29 May, BelTA has learned.

The Hungarian foreign minister stated with regret that the world community is divided into blocs today. Sanctions only intensify the confrontation between countries. "This is not in our interests. We want the world to move towards unification and international cooperation. We believe that we need fewer sanctions and as much cooperation as possible. That is why we strive to develop cooperation with Belarus in any area that is not burdened by sanctions. This is not a political statement. We need this," Peter Szijjarto said.

According to him, this is also confirmed by a major Belarusian-Hungarian business forum in Minsk. More than 20 heads of Hungarian enterprises came to Belarus. In particular, they are discussing cooperation in the field of agriculture and pharmacology with Belarusian partners.

The foreign minister also hopes that Belarus will continue to support Hungary in terms of oil supplies. "80% of oil comes to Hungary through Belarus. We thank Belarus for guaranteed transit. Without the Druzhba oil pipeline, it is impossible to safely supply Hungary with oil. This is not for political reasons, but for physical ones: there is no other pipeline that would bring oil to Hungary. Croatia has increased the transit fee fivefold. Therefore we bring oil through Belarus," he explained.

Another promising area of cooperation between Belarus and Hungary is nuclear energy. The minister hopes that Belarusian specialists will be able to take part in the construction of nuclear power plants in the country.