BELGRADE, May 26. /TASS/. Belgrade and Budapest are under attack in the international arena for their support for peace in Ukraine and their unwillingness to contribute to the conflict escalation in that country, Hungarian Foreign Minister Peter Szijjarto said in Belgrade on Friday, addressing a nationwide rally in support of the Serbian government.

"Dear friends, we have similar problems. Both you and we face ruthless attacks of the international liberal mainstream. But why do they attack us? Because both the Hungarians and Serbs stand up for themselves and their national interests. And we can do so as we have strong leaders," the Hungarian foreign minister said, as his speech was broadcast by the Serbian news agency Tanjug.

"They attack us because we want peace in Ukraine and do not contribute to the increasing risk of escalating war. They attack us because family values matter to us. They attack us because we refuse to give them our own," Szijjarto said, reading his speech in Serbian.

Serbia has not joined in with the EU sanctions against Russia. Budapest has banned the transit of weapons for Kiev via its territory and does not provide such shipments on its own. Hungarian Prime Minister Victor Orban reiterated his disagreement with the EU’s Ukraine policy and repeatedly called for peace talks between Moscow and Kiev, as well as Russian and US representatives.