Péter Szijjártó told JNS that Israel is “a strategic ally” of Hungary, while the latter has a “pragmatic, practical relationship” with Iran.

By Mike Wagenheim, JNS

Contrary to widespread reports, the pagers that exploded en masse, reportedly injuring at least hundreds of Hezbollah terrorists, were not manufactured in Hungary, Péter Szijjártó, the foreign affairs and trade minister of the central European country, told JNS on the sidelines of the United Nations General Assembly.

The “fake news” reports “can put a hazard, a risk, a danger, on the citizens of a country in certain regions,” Szijjártó said on Wednesday in New York.

“I’m really angry with these fake news (reports) being circulated, because these are based on lies,” Szijjártó told JNS. “These pagers have not been produced in Hungary. These pagers have never been to Hungary. No Hungarian company got in physical contact with these pagers. We have nothing to do with the whole issue.”

Earlier this month, photos and video footage spread widely of pagers exploding in the possession of Hezbollah terrorists in Lebanon and Syria. The pagers were linked in some posts on social media to a Taiwanese company, Gold Apollo, which denied involvement and claimed that the pagers were produced and sold by BAC Consulting in the Hungarian capital, Budapest.

Several media outlets reported that BAC was apparently a one-person operation and that the lone employee had suspicious credentials.

Szijjártó told JNS that Hungary’s investigation indicated that BAC was involved in “trade mediation,” helping companies ink the deal.

“They have helped the transaction to be made, but they never produced this thing. They never got in touch with it. They never had the physical connection,” the Hungarian official said. “With the essence of the issue, we have nothing to do with this.”

Hungary is one of a few countries that have solid relations with both Israel and Iran.

Szijjártó told JNS that Israel is “a strategic partner, a strategic ally” to Hungary, while the central European country has a “pragmatic, practical relationship” with Iran, based on economic and trade cooperation.

“It is obvious that on many issues, we see the world in a totally different way. We see the developments, we see the challenges in totally different ways,” he said. “It’s not only Iran, but all the countries in the world, that we still prefer the channels of communication to be kept open.”

“If you have a channel of communication open, you can avoid major misunderstandings, which then can lead to some very bad developments,” he said.

Szijjártó added that Hungary, which currently holds the rotating European Union presidency, “can have outreach to Iran as well, and can talk to the Iranians.”

Small- to medium-sized countries like Qatar, Oman and Turkey have tried to burnish their foreign policy bona fides and expand their influence by mediating between opposing sides. Szijjártó told JNS that Hungary might, under certain conditions, be willing to step into that role.

“It depends only on one thing,” he said. “Whether the two countries want us to do so.”

“In case there’s an outreach from both sides asking us to do the job, we would be happy to do so,” he said. “We are not the world power, so we don’t want to seem to be more important than we are. So in case there is a request, of course, we try to deliver but no request has been placed yet.”

Péter Szijjártó, Hungarian minister for foreign affairs, meets with Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu at the Knesset in Jerusalem on Nov. 16, 2015. Photo by Kobi Gideon/GPO.

‘Absolute security’

Szijjártó told JNS about the degree to which Hungary protects its Jewish population, compared the ways its European neighbors do.

“The Hungarian Jewish community, estimated at 47,200, is the largest in east central Europe,” according to the World Jewish Congress, which notes that there are some 20 working synagogues in Budapest, where most Hungarian Jews live, “and a plethora of other Jewish institutions, both religious and cultural.”

“Despite occasional antisemitic incidents and a neo-Nazi party, Jobbik, Hungarian Jews have every facility to express their Jewish heritage and religious life,” the WJC says. The CIA World Factbook doesn’t mention Jew-hatred in the country.

“The biggest Jewish community of central Europe is living in Hungary, and if you ask them, you will see that they feel absolute security in Hungary, given the fact that our government makes it absolutely sure that everyone, regardless of faith, belief, religion, must be safe,” Szijjártó told JNS.

It is unnecessary to post guards at Budapest’s Central Synagogue, Hungary’s dop diplomat added.

Belgium was not “brave enough” to host Israel in international soccer, instead playing its home game on neutral grounds in Hungary, where Israel’s national team plays its European qualifiers and Nations League matches, he added.

“We are proud of those Hungarians, a lot of them, who are now loyal citizens and inhabitants of Israel,” Szijjártó said. “These two communities, Hungarians in Israel and the Jewish community in Hungary, will always be a very important point of connection.”

Szijjártó delivered Hungary’s speech at the United Nations General Assembly on Wednesday, while Viktor Orbán, the Hungarian prime minister, stayed home to address major floods in the country.

“It’s extremely important to remind ourselves why the U.N. was established many decades ago,” Szijjártó told JNS. “It’s obvious that the United Nations as an organization was established not as a group of like-minded countries, but as an organization which offers a platform for everyone to talk to everyone about everything.”

Much depends on the results of the U.S. presidential election in November, he told JNS.

“The outcome there would have a huge impact on the global security situation and on formulating the future,” he said.

Orbán and former President Donald Trump have expressed mutual admiration publicly.

Politics is “a job based on experience,” Szijjártó told JNS. “President Trump would be the better solution, for sure.” He added that it’s up to Americans to decide how to vote. “We will, of course, respect the decision of the American citizens,” he said, although Hungary is “allowed to cross fingers, and we do cross fingers for President Trump, obviously.”

In the European Union, Hungary has been among Israel’s staunchest allies, refusing several times to sign onto an initiative to punish and critique Jerusalem, which was put forward by Josep Borrell, the EU foreign policy chief.

Kaja Kallas, the former prime minister of Estonia, is slated to take over Borrell’s role later this year and is expected to adopt a friendlier tone toward Israel than Borrell has shown.

Szijjártó told JNS that he had “a lot of debates” with Borrell. “We were not really on the same page on any issues,” he said. “Relationship and outreach to Israel was one of the areas where we heavily disagreed with each other.”

He hopes Kallas “will be able to play a balanced, stabilizing role.”