No security in Hungary without Türkiye: PM Orban
President Recep Tayyip Erdoğan, and Hungarian PM Victor Orban attend joint news conference in Budapest, Hungary, Dec. 18, 2023. (AA Photo)


Hungary's Prime Minister Victor Orban hailed Türkiye's global role and said there would be no security in his country without Türkiye.

Orban said Türkiye is the only country that has achieved results in efforts concerning the Russia-Ukraine war through the grain deal it helped broker last year.

"We have advanced the Türkiye-Hungary relationship to the level of enhanced strategic partnership. I don't know if there is anything beyond this in diplomatic terms. I believe this is the strongest in terms of friendship and brotherhood," Orban said in a joint news conference with President Recep Tayyip Erdoğan in the Hungarian capital Budapest.

The remarks came after the sixth meeting of the Türkiye-Hungary High-Level Strategic Cooperation Council held at the Carmelite Monastery.

Orban also emphasized that without Türkiye, Hungary had no security.

Emphasizing the significance of bilateral relations, Orban said Erdoğan presented a monumental project for the next century.

"The coming century will be yours (Türkiye's). We believe in this and made agreements," he said.

During the visit by Türkiye's delegation led by Erdoğan, the two countries signed a 17-article cooperation agreement to raise relations to the level of enhanced strategic partnership.

Meanwhile, President Erdoğan said the international community has a primary responsibility to send a clear message to Israel and put an end to the ongoing "massacre" in Gaza.

Erdoğan said that since the beginning, Türkiye has been exerting intensive diplomatic efforts for an urgent cease-fire in Gaza and to prevent the spread of conflict.

Türkiye is working for the immediate cessation of "Israeli brutality" in Gaza, he added.

Israel's air and ground attacks on the Gaza Strip since the Oct. 7 attack by Hamas have killed at least 19,453 Palestinians, mostly women and children, according to health authorities in the enclave.

The war has left Gaza in ruins with half of the coastal territory's housing stock damaged or destroyed, and nearly 2 million people displaced within the densely-populated enclave amid shortages of food and clean water.

The Israeli death toll in the Hamas attack stands at 1,200, while more than 130 hostages are still being held by the Palestinian group in Gaza, according to official figures.

Erdoğan also said that Türkiye was ready to revitalize the stalled Istanbul process for a diplomatic solution in Ukraine.

Türkiye is one of the most active countries working to ensure a permanent cease-fire between Ukraine and Russia. Its delicately balanced act of assuming a role as a mediator by keeping communication channels with both warring sides open provides a glimmer of hope in diplomatic efforts to find a solution and achieve peace in the Ukraine crisis. With its unique position of friendly relations with Russia and Ukraine, Türkiye has won widespread praise for its push to end the war.

Since the beginning of the conflict, Ankara has offered to mediate between the two sides and host peace talks, underlining its support for Ukraine’s territorial integrity and sovereignty. While Ankara has opposed international sanctions designed to isolate Moscow, it also closed its straits to prevent some Russian vessels from crossing through them.

Türkiye, the U.N., Russia, and Ukraine signed a deal in Istanbul last July to resume grain exports from three Ukrainian Black Sea ports, which were paused after the Russia-Ukraine war began in February 2022, exacerbating global food insecurity.

A coordination center or Joint Coordination Centre (JCC) was set up in Istanbul to oversee shipments with officials from the three countries and the U.N.