Belarus is actually very isolated because of its support for Russia’s war of aggression against Ukraine – nevertheless, Hungary’s Foreign Minister Peter Szijjarto has now traveled to the authoritarian country.
Despite the EU sanctions against Belarus, Hungarian Foreign Minister Péter Szijjártó has decided to visit the country to discuss ways to expand bilateral relations. According to the Associated Press, Szijjártó stressed that Hungary’s position is clear: “The fewer sanctions, the more cooperation!”
The European Union has imposed wide-ranging sanctions on Belarus over repression that followed mass protests sparked by the 2020 presidential election, which was viewed as rigged by both the opposition and the West.
The country’s isolation was further exacerbated when President Alexander Lukashenko allowed Russian troops to use his country as a base for an invasion of Ukraine.
Although Szijjártó stressed that “sanctions do not work,” he added that Hungary wants to intensify economic cooperation with Belarus in areas not affected by sanctions. “We will provide all support to develop cooperation,” he stressed, according to Associated Press.
During the visit, Hungarian and Belarusian officials signed an agreement on cooperation in the field of nuclear energy, which includes personnel training and radioactive waste management.
Szijjártó expressed his delight at the agreement, stressing that it would enable Hungary to benefit from Belarus’ experience in building reactors using similar technology.
Belarusian Foreign Minister Sergei Aleinik expressed hope that Hungary’s upcoming assumption of the EU Council presidency in July could promote “healthy trends” in Europe. Szijjártó had already visited Belarus in February 2023, as the first senior EU official after the Western sanctions.
Belarusian opposition leader Sviatlana Tsikhanouskaya, who challenged President Lukashenko in the 2020 election and was forced to leave the country afterward, sharply criticized Szijjártó’s visit to Belarus despite EU sanctions. “Such visits are absolutely unacceptable and immoral,” she told the Associated Press.