Hungarian FM to attend signing of Israel's agreements with UAE and Bahrain - Europe
Peter Szijjarto will be the only EU diplomatic leader to attend signing ceremony for agreements between Israel and the UAE and Bahrain.
by Elad BenariHungarian Foreign Minister Peter Szijjarto will be the only EU diplomatic leader to attend the signing ceremony on Tuesday in Washington for the peace agreements between Israel and the United Arab Emirates and Bahrain, his spokesman said on Sunday, according to Reuters.
"At the invitation of US President Donald Trump, as the only European Union minister, Foreign Minister Peter Szijjarto will also attend ... the signing ceremony in the White House on Tuesday," the spokesman, Mate Paczolay, was quoted as having told Hungarian news agency MTI.
Trump announced the UAE-Israel deal last month and on Friday, he said Bahrain would join the agreement.
Major European powers such as France and the UK welcomed the Israel-UAE deal, as did the European Union executive, which said it was good for regional stability.
The Palestinian Authority (PA) has condemned the UAE agreement, describing it as "a stab in the Palestinians' back" and has also denounced the Bahrain agreement.
"Since the White House prepared the agenda for stabilizing the region, this has been the second development to prove that this is the best peace plan thus far and promises to bring peace in the Middle East at last," Szijjarto wrote on Facebook on Saturday, according to Reuters.
"The US President thus deserves gratitude," he said, adding praise for Israeli, UAE and Bahraini leaders.
Szijjarto will also hold talks with Trump's son-in-law and senior adviser, Jared Kushner, the minister's spokesman said.
Hungarian Prime Minister Viktor Orban is considered a strong opponent of the EU's immigration policy and a close friend of Prime Minister Binyamin Netanyahu.
In recent years Hungary has been in a protracted conflict with the European Union after Orban criticized the immigration policy and announced that Hungary would not accept more Muslim immigrants to its territory.