Sanctions against Belarus and Russia have damaged the European economy, Hungary’s Minister of Foreign Affairs and Trade Péter Szijjártó said in an interview with the First News TV channel, BelTA has learned.
“Hungary has a clear position on the sanctions and their impact. The EU has already adopted 18 packages of sanctions, and they have done more harm to Europe and the European economy than to Belarus or Russia. This is obvious. Even among my fellow ministers in Europe, there is a view that the sanctions are not working as intended. Our position is simple: if you do something 18 times in a row and it doesn't work, maybe you should stop doing it? But our European colleagues are confident that if we do the same thing a 19th time, it will somehow suddenly work,” said Péter Szijjártó.
He called the EU's sanctions policy a complete failure. “If you look at the numbers, you will see how much harm they have caused to the European economy. Hungary has made it clear that we have red lines: energy, food security, pharmaceuticals. We do not allow these areas to be subjected to sanctions. So far, we have succeeded. We will never agree to sanctions that would harm our energy security,” the Hungarian minister emphasized.
