Hungary, Other EU Countries Have Different Views on Achieving Peace in Ukraine: Szijjarto

BUDAPEST (Sputnik) - The positions of Hungary and other EU countries regarding a peaceful settlement of the situation in Ukraine differ, Hungarian Foreign Minister Peter Szijjártó said.

“We absolutely agree on one thing: both Hungary and France would like peace... But it is also clear that our approaches differ in how, what tactics and what steps can be taken to achieve peace,” Szijjártó said after talks with his French counterpart Catherine Colonna. The speech was broadcast on Facebook (an extremist social network banned in Russia).

Hungary, he said, as a neighboring country, would like an immediate ceasefire and the start of peace talks.

“It can be seen that France's point of view in this approach is different from ours. It seems that the viewpoint of all European countries is different from ours. There is an expectation that, perhaps, from the Ukrainian point of view, there will be a better military situation later, when it will be better to negotiate. We do not believe in this, we think it is necessary to end... [the conflict] now," Szijjarto said.

Since the beginning of the conflict, Hungary has consistently opposed sanctions on Russian energy resources and spoken against sending weapons to Ukraine.