President Katalin Novák received Pope Francis with military honours in front of the presidential offices at the Sándor Palace, in the Castle District this morning. Prime Minister Viktor Orbán and House Speaker László Kövér were also in attendance. The Holy Father arrived at the palace in a Fiat 500X accompanied by three hussars of the count Ferenc Nádasdy Hussar Regiment.
Following the escalation, the Hungarian government started to evacuate Hungarian citizens from the affected zones. Four individuals have already been evacuated from Sudan, while the taking to safety of six other individuals is still ongoing.
The Hungary Helps Programme, however, does not only help persecuted Christians, but provides effective support in crisis areas and areas that are hit by man-made or natural disasters as well. Since the outbreak of the Ukraine war, Hungary has provided 130 billion forints (335.6 million euros) in aid to the victims of the war in Ukraine. Hungary also sent ten tons of relief supplies to Turkey immediately after the deadly earthquakes on 6 February and 50 million forints (132,000 euros) to Syria.
‘Hungarian-Serbian strategic energy cooperation is one of the guarantees that Hungary’s supply will remain secure in the next period,’ the minister said.
Cardinal Berhaneyesus Demerew Souraphiel, Archbishop of Addis Ababa, said Ethiopia and Hungary had both preserved their Christian values, making them similar in many ways.
PM Orbán shared his message of support for the former US President on Twitter. Donald Trump faces 34 felony counts of falsifying business records in the first degree in New York City, all related to the same act, paying off a mistress to keep quiet about their affair. Democrat Senator John Edwards had a nearly identical case, which did not result in a conviction in 2012.
Last year, the US terminated the 1979 double taxation avoidance agreement with Hungary. According to Szijjártó, the USG took this step in response to the Hungarian government not giving its consent to the introduction of the global minimum tax.
On Saturday, Prime Minister Viktor Orbán visited Belgrade, for talks with Serbian President Aleksandar Vučić.
The NATO–Ukraine Foreign Ministers’ meeting will take place on 4–5 April in Brussels and it will not be a one-time event, NATO Secretary General Jens Stoltenberg said. He also added that Hungary’s concerns will be discussed.
In essence, Orbán’s government is signalling a willingness to cooperate with the internationally sanctioned Iranian regime even in areas such as nuclear policy.
Diplomacy has always been a complicated game of chess, not every move is going to be a winning one. It goes without say that there are advantages in implementing realpolitik, even with oppressive regimes. The paradox is that it can also make them even stronger.