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HUNGARY-SYRIA-DIPLOMACY
Hungary to appoint Syria diplomat in thawing of ties
BUDAPEST, Sept 11, 2019 (BSS/AFP) – Hungary is planning to appoint a
diplomat to carry out “consular duties” in Damascus next year, the first time
an EU member state is to upgrade its diplomatic presence in Syria since the
start of the war.
“Starting next year, Hungary will delegate a diplomat who will occasionally
visit Syria to make follow ups on humanitarian support and to conduct
consular duties,” Hungary’s foreign ministry said in a statement to AFP on
Wednesday.
The ministry said Budapest provides humanitarian aid for Christians in the
Middle East, including in Syria, while a “considerable number” of Syrian
students study in Hungary on scholarships.
Only the Czech Republic still has an embassy in Damascus, while other EU
countries, the US and Canada are among those which have closed their
missions, breaking off relations with the regime of President Bashar al-
Assad.
Romania technically still has an embassy in Syria, but the ambassador is
based in Beirut. Bulgaria has a charge d’affaires.
EU countries have in the past sent envoys to Syria, but not for consular
purposes, with their duties limited to talks on aid and policy.
Syria’s conflict flared in 2011 with anti-government demonstrations that
sparked a brutal regime crackdown. Since then, 370,000 people have been
killed and millions displaced.
A source close to the Hungarian government told AFP that Budapest was
considering engaging Assad to better help Christians, as well as “be ahead
of” other EU countries possibly re-opening ties for economic opportunities.
“Many people in (the ruling party) Fidesz and in the government think that
the question of engaging Assad is not a question of if, but when it is going
to happen,” he said.
Led by nationalist Prime Minister Viktor Orban, Hungary has often been at
loggerheads with other EU members and the EU itself on what Orban calls its
pro-immigration stance and other issues.
BSS/AFP/SSS/1910 hrs