Iranian and Hungarian FMs hold telephone conversation

Iranian Foreign Minister Hossein Amirabdollahian and his Hungarian counterpart Péter Szijjártó have exchanged views over the expanding trend of bilateral ties and some international issues of mutual interest including the Ukraine crisis.

Iranian Foreign Minister Hossein Amirabdollahian and his Hungarian counterpart Péter Szijjártó have exchanged views over the expanding trend of bilateral ties and some international issues of mutual interest including the Ukraine crisis.

In the telephone conversation, Amirabdollahian pointed to the results of last year’s visit of his Hungarian counterpart to Tehran and agreements reached by the two sides, saying expansion of relations with Hungary is a priority for the Islamic Republic of Iran.

Amirabdollahian added that fortunately, trade and economic cooperation between Iran and Hungary is growing and holding the joint economic commission of the two sides in the near future can pave the way for speeding up bilateral relations.

The top Iranian diplomat also referred to advancements and accomplishments of the Islamic Republic of Iran in different scientific and technological fields including indigenizing peaceful nuclear technology with diverse civilian purposes in the fields of electricity, medicine, agriculture and industry. He then said Iran is ready to expand cooperation with Hungary and exchange experiences in scientific, academic and technological fields.

Amirabdollahian also spoke about the talks aimed at removing oppressive sanctions on the Iranian people. He said, “We are determined to keep and expand our peaceful nuclear know-how and at the same time we are completely serious about reaching a good and lasting deal during the process of the talks to lift the sanctions.” Amirabdollahian added that Iran is engaged in talks through the European Union and it hopes that the US side will act realistically and will speed up and facilitate the return of all sides to the Iran nuclear deal.

The Iranian foreign minister pointed to the Ukraine crisis and reaffirmed Iran’s principled stance and its rejection of war and sanctions. He said the Islamic Republic of Iran urges focusing on a political approach to resolve the Ukraine crisis and in that vein, it continues efforts and consultations with Moscow and Kiev in order to strengthen and promote the political approach to speed up the resolution of the crisis and to help provide food and energy security and in this regard, it has held talks with Russian and Ukrainian officials.

In the phone conversation, Hungarian Foreign Minister Péter Szijjártó also underlined the necessity of boosting ties between his country and Iran. He said the Hungarian government has always supported the Islamic Republic of Iran’s balanced approach in the international bodies and it is ready to hold a session of the joint economic commission of the two countries in order to expand ties, especially economic relations more than ever before. Szijjártó added that Budapest welcomes visits by the officials of Iran and Hungary to the two countries to pursue expansion of relations.

“We are ready to expand ties in different areas and to put into practice agreements of the joint economic commission”, Szijjártó said.

The Hungarian foreign minister also thanked Iran’s efforts to restore stability to the region and the world. He stressed that Hungary wants peace in Ukraine and stability in the Middle East and to this end, it appreciates Iran’s role in creating stability in the region and also the holding of the Astana summit in Tehran.

Szijjártó underlined that as a neighbor of Ukraine and due to the potential risks from the continuation of the crisis and the hostilities in the country including refugee influxes and illegal immigration, Hungary wants the war in Ukraine to end as quickly as possible.

Hungary’s top diplomat further thanked Iran for caring about the issue of energy security. He stressed that the issue of energy is vital for Europe and the world, saying Iran’s more forceful return to the global energy markets will serve the interests of all countries.

Szijjártó then renewed his invitation of Amirabdollahian to visit Hungary. He underscored that in line with its foreign policy, Hungary is committed to expand cooperation with the Islamic Republic of Iran and the continuation of such visits will further boost and develop ties between Tehran and Budapest in different spheres.