ANTALYA, April 11. /TASS/. Leaders of the European Union (EU) member states should step out of their ivory towers and, following the example of the United States, restart direct communication with Russia, Hungarian Foreign Affairs and International Economic Relations Minister Peter Szijjarto said on Friday.
Brussels and Washington have openly expressed dissatisfaction with Budapest's effort to maintain relationships with Moscow and Beijing in recent years, Szijjarto noted, speaking at the Antalya Diplomatic Forum in Turkey. "They would ask why we converse with Russians, why we engage with Chinese, and why we became observers in the Organization of Turkic States," the Hungarian foreign minister said.
He expressed hope that with Donald Trump's return to the US presidency, such practices would stop and the world would "reopen communication channels." "I would suggest that the bureaucrats in Brussels show respect for others, step outside their ivory towers, and abandon the notion that the EU can operate led by moral divisions and animosities. There should be no such thing," Szijjarto said.
In his opinion, "keeping lines of communication open and continuing dialogue based on mutual respect is the only way to overcome the extremely difficult situation" that currently exists in relations between different countries. "Conversing with each other is always better than remaining silent," the minister emphasized.