|  Foreign Minister Kinga Göncz presented her U.S. counterpart in Washington the Republic of Hungary’s Order of Merit, Middle Cross with the Star. Ms Göncz noted that President László Sólyom had awarded Condoleezza Rice the state decoration in recognition of her support for developing relations with the region and her consistent personal sympathy for Central Europe. One of Ms Rice’s first major academic papers was on 1956 Hungarian revolution. During talks, Ms Göncz said that she felt a great personal loss at the death of Hungarian-born U.S. congressman Tom Lantos. On the subject of Russia, the ministers commended a joint stance of the European Union and the United States during the Georgian crisis. Both had made it clear that no country should be able to use armed forces on the pretense of protecting its citizens. They agreed that it was unacceptable for a state to disrespect the borders of another state, its territorial integrity and its legitimately elected government. However, the two foreign ministers underlined the necessity of pursuing dialogue with Russia.  On the closing day of talks in Washington, Ms Göncz met three foreign affairs advisers to the Republican candidate John McCain as well as three experts of international affairs serving in the staff of Democratic presidential hopeful Barack Obama. After, she met Richard Lugar, a senior Republican member of the Senate’s Committee on Foreign Relations.
The Hungarian minister said in an assessment of her meetings with foreign advisers of the two presidential candidates, that whoever is elected the Hungarian-U.S. relations are set to continue more or less undisturbed. Ms Göncz recalled she discussed such issues as the Russia-Georgia conflict, Ukraine, the Western Balkans and energy supply, and noted that any differences between the Democratic and Republican teams regarding Russia were ones of emphasis. The McCain team tends to take a firmer stand while Obama’s experts put a stress on dialogue, she said. The minister asked the United States for assistance in organizing the planned Nabucco Conference so that it could be at the highest level possible in Budapest in January 2009. The preparations for an agreement – she added - must be accelerated. For the same reason, Ms Göncz plans a visit in the near future to Central Asia to evaluate the intentions and the openness of states which may be considered as sources of gas for the project. Hungarian Nabucco ambassador Mihaly Bayer, who had arrived to the American capital to discuss energy matters, was also present at the talks. With reference to Hungary’s entry to the U.S. Visa Waiver Program, Ms Göncz noted that although final data are not yet available her partners have unofficially reassured her that the ratio of rejected visa applications will fall below the required ten percent level. She added that the agreement on granting visa-free status for Hungarian tourists had a higher symbolic meaning, and could be the last step in bringing equal treatment for Hungary, since its citizens may soon travel to the United States without major administrative obstacles. (September 30, 2008) |