‘There Will Be No Solution on the Battlefield’: Hungarian Foreign Minister

The New Center: A Newsletter From Sohrab Ahmari

Hungary is a sort of Cassandra among the European family of nations. On more than one occasion in recent years, it has bucked the mainstream political trend on the Continent, only to be demonized and ostracized, and then to be vindicated. Most recently, it’s the country’s more restrained position on the Ukraine war and reluctance that’s looking wiser by the day, as the West comes to term with the reality of Kiev’s inability to defeat Moscow. Earlier this month, I sat down for an interview with Hungarian Foreign Minister Péter Szijjártó to discuss this and more. The interview has been lightly edited for length and clarity.

Sohrab Ahmari: Describe Hungary’s discussions with the Ukrainian leadership over the shape of the war.

Péter Szijjártó: We have no differences when it comes to what we think of the war. We do condemn the war. We stand up for their territorial integrity and sovereignty. The difference between us is over how we see the issue of peace. Because we do believe that there will be no solution on the battlefield.
On the battlefield, you don’t have a solution but the death of people and destruction. And the longer this war takes, the later peace will be made, the more people will die and the more destruction that will take place.