Hungarian Foreign Minister Péter Szijjártó schooled BBC Newsnight on why his country is against illegal mass immigration.
“The current migration policy of the European Union can be very easily translated as an invitation in the minds of those people, who can easily make a decision to head towards Europe,” he told the programme.
When quizzed by the BBC’s Emily Maitlis on the ‘stop Soros’ law which was passed last week, Szijjártó responded: “There are organisations who help people to ask for asylum, even if they no legal basis for that… and they have to contend with the consequences.”
“We want to keep Hungary a Hungarian country and we don’t think that multiculturalism is by definition good,” says Hungary’s Foreign Minister Péter Szijjártó #newsnight pic.twitter.com/lkY33zvmax
— BBC Newsnight (@BBCNewsnight) June 25, 2018
The triggered Maitlis tried to tell the Foreign Minister that anyone landing in Hungary has the right to call themselves an asylum seeker and have their case heard.
Szijjártó hit back: “From the south, we are surrounded by peaceful countries, so those people who are violating our borders all came from peaceful countries like Serbia and Croatia and there’s no point of reference in any international regulations why you should be allowed or helped or assisted to violate a border between two peaceful countries.”
“What we don’t want is a massive illegal influx coming from the south to us, we want to keep Hungary a Hungarian country and we don’t think by definition that multiculturalism is good.
“If you think so, if people in this country think so, we respect that, but please don’t put pressure on us.”