The politician touched on the Middle East conflict, which he stressed was a matter of great concern for the whole world and that global action was needed to prevent escalation. Among the negative developments, he cited clashes between Israel and Lebanon’s Hezbollah, and attacks on merchant ships and U.S. military bases in the region.
“The past weeks of the Middle East conflict have produced a number of signs that have made the risk of escalation more serious than ever. We therefore believe that the most important task for the international community today is to prevent an escalation of the conflict in the Middle East,” he warned.
The minister also praised Doha’s role in the release of some of the hostages taken by Hamas, including three Hungarian citizens. He noted that one more Hungarian citizen might be in the terrorist organization’s captivity, and therefore asked his Qatari counterpart to help him return home as soon as possible.
He expressed the hope that the negotiations on further hostage exchanges would be successful sooner rather than later, but preferably sooner, as he had recently heard in Israel from some of the hostages and their families who had returned home about the terrible conditions.