Péter Szijjártó, Hungarian Foreign Minister, met with his Russian counterpart Sergei Lavrov on Friday 23 September on the sidelines of the UN General Assembly and talked about bilateral cooperation and Russian aggression in Ukraine.

As Index rerports, Szijjártó said he met with Lavrov, as he has done at every session of the UN General Assembly.

"It would be good if other Western politicians did the same. Then, perhaps, there would be more hope that peace would finally come to Ukraine, that the killings would stop and that human lives would be saved," he said.

The Hungarian Foreign Minister added that one of the main topics of the discussions with his Russian counterpart was the war in Ukraine.

"Our colleague Sergey Lavrov also informed us that Russia is ready for peace talks. Obviously, many details still need to be established. I sincerely hope that at some point circumstances will be created that will make it clear to both Ukraine and Russia that they should seek a solution at the negotiating table as soon as possible," he continued.

The foreign ministers of Hungary and Russia also discussed cooperation in the energy sector and "all areas not affected by sanctions", and the scandal over a Russian textbook that called the Hungarian Revolution of 1956 "fascist".

Relations between Ukraine and Hungary in recent months have been strained due to scandalous statements made by the Hungarian leadership about Ukraine, as well as Budapest's obstruction of EU sanctions.

In turn, the Hungarians have demanded that Kyiv resolve controversial issues regarding the situation of the Hungarian minority in Transcarpathia. At the same time, Hungary consistently supports the territorial integrity of Ukraine and condemns Russian aggression.

Last month, Péter Szijjártó expressed confusion as to why supporters of a "ceasefire" and "peace talks" are being criticised.