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Hungary
Jan 13, 2015. Hungary offers olive branch to U.S. NATO ally shows willingness to mend bridges as hostilities continue between Ukraine and Russia. Hungary’s foreign minister has extended an olive branch to the U.S., saying his country is ready to start mending bridges weakened recently by Washington’s corruption allegations, which Budapest firmly rejects. The country hopes to overcome its differences with the U.S., a North Atlantic Treaty Organization ally, amid deepening hostility between neighboring Ukraine and Russia, Szijjarto said in an interview. “In the current situation, when there is a military conflict under way in a neighboring country, cooperation with our ally gains ever greater significance,” he said. “We are hoping that our friend, the U.S., will present signs that this situation could come to a close.” Washington last year put several Hungarian government officials on its visa-ban list because of alleged involvement in corruption. There have been regular protests against the populist Fidesz government since October. Mr. Szijjarto dismissed such allegations and said the U.S. needs to present evidence of wrongdoing by Hungarian officials. The U.S. has said it may not name those on its visa-ban list, but has presented some documents to the Hungarian government, which were dismissed by it as irrelevant. “If we were speaking about corruption in earnest, the Hungarian government’s initiatives and measures do deserve acknowledgment,” Mr. Szijjarto said. The foreign minister also said he was troubled by remarks made by Sewall, Under Secretary of State, who said in December that U.S. “embassies in two dozen countries in Central and Eastern Europe are currently drafting action plans for supporting and cooperating on anticorruption reform in their host country.” Mr. Szijjarto said the comment came close to meddling in Hungary’s internal affairs. “If someone has a self-declared action plan about another country, it is only acceptable if it is coordinated and carried out with our involvement,” he said. “I do acknowledge the U.S.’s commitment to democratic values and spreading its values, but one of the most important democratic value is sovereignty. The Hungarian people made an unequivocal decision in 2010 and 2014 as well, which is only proper to respect,” Mr. Szijjarto added. The Fidesz party won parliamentary elections convincingly in 2010 and was re-elected in 2014, giving the government of Viktor Orban a two-third majority each time. The combative premier has introduced controversial measures, including a new constitution, prompting Sen. McCain to recently brand him “a neofascist dictator,” a charge Hungary angrily rebuffed. Public support for Fidesz has fallen sharply since the most recent vote in April last year, but the party continues to lead in the polls, despite the protests. Mr. Szijjarto said Hungary was sharply criticized during his visit to Washington last year “over every single measure” in its current legal framework, which he rejected, saying the country’s laws comply with those of the 28-nation European Union, which it joined in 2004. While walking tightrope between the EU and Russia, Hungary has stood out in Central Europe during the crisis in Ukraine by pursuing closer business ties with the Kremlin. Last year, it agreed to expand its nuclear plant in partnership with Russia’s state-owned Rosatom. It has been far less critical of Moscow and its actions in Ukraine than some of its regional peers. Still, Mr. Szijjarto said attempts to reduce the EU’s dependence on Russian energy resources should continue. Hungary is highly dependent on Russian natural gas, with more than 80% of its imports coming through a pipeline from Russia via Ukraine.The country would favor the diversification of its sources for gas, or at least the routes for access. Since Russia scrapped the plan for the South Stream gas pipeline through the Black Sea, a link that would have crossed Hungary, it has to seek other opportunities and Mr. Szijjarto said the European Commission in Brussels, the bloc’s executive arm, should help in that process. One such opportunity could be a gas pipeline from Azerbaijan, another a connection to the planned Russian gas hub in Turkey, or a line allowing it to receive liquefied natural gas from Qatar or the U.S., the minister said. He urged the construction of an LNG terminal in Croatia, which would allow gas supplies to be delivered by ships in the Mediterranean Sea. (Source: The Wall Street Journal): http://tinyurl.com/q7vr3tb
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