Chairman of Hungarian Workers' Party on the point of his conversation with Lukashenko in 2020

Belarus and Hungary have developed very harmonious relations in recent years – as stated by the Chairman of the Hungarian Workers' Party, Gyula Thurmer, commenting on why Minsk and Budapest are getting closer to each other in his talk with the ONT TV channel

Photo: ONT video screenshot

“It seems to me that our peoples are very close, and this is true about our emotions, feelings, and ideas. We have no complaints against each other. We place no demands on the Belarusian territory, and Belarus does not want the land of Hungary. We had no common historical tragedies,” Mr. Thurmer said. “Hungarians and Belarusians love peace and freedom, and both nations survived WWII. We do not want it to repeat, and the Hungarian government's rather clever policy is aimed at this. I remember that, in 2020, Prime Minister Viktor Orban was the only one representative of the European Union who travelled to Belarus and met with your President. Foreign Minister Peter Szijjarto also met with the President of Belarus later. We think that, if we get rid of the sanctions that the European Union forced us to accept and support, our relations would be developing even more actively.”

The Chairman of the Hungarian Workers' Party also commented on his conversation with Aleksandr Lukashenko that took place in 2020, “We then discussed the consolidation that was taking place in Belarus. We remember what happened after the election… He said then that, as a Hungarian politician, I can try to do everything to ensure that the West ends its anti-Russian, anti-Belarusian policy so that Europe does not fall into two parts. We promised to do everything necessary. Although there are difficulties and problems, the development of relations between our countries continues.”

Speaking about the presidential elections scheduled to be held in Belarus in 2025, Mr. Thurmer noted, “In Hungary, many people think under pressure from the Western media, and such statements as ‘Belarus is a dictatorship’ are common there. However, it would be a very wrong explanation. I think Belarusians have realised that they live better than people in many other states of the former Soviet Union, and that they should not envy the life in the European Union. Here, we face the problems of migration, unemployment, declining living standards, and inflation. I believe that, during the coming presidential elections, no matter who participates in them, only Aleksandr Lukashenko has a real chance [to win]. This means independence, sovereignty, a quiet life and gradual development.”