As we wrote on the basis of the Times of Israel: Hungary would be the first EU member state to move its embassy from Tel Aviv to Jerusalem, thereby recognizing the disputed city as its capital, and the specifics were agreed upon by Foreign Minister Péter Szijjártó and Israeli Foreign Minister Eli Cohen in the past few days. The new embassy is expected to be close to the American embassy, which was opened by the Trump administration.
Katalin Novák responded to this information at Friday’s briefing, which she held jointly with the outgoing Czech President Milos Zeman.
The news agency also contacted the Hungarian Ministry of Foreign Affairs and Trade, whose spokesperson, Máté Paczolay also did not confirm the information published in the newspaper Times of Israel. All he indicated was that they would provide information on any changes related to the Hungarian embassy in Israel. However, he reminded that the commercial department of the embassy was moved to Jerusalem years ago.
The topic was also discussed in Brussels at the European Commission’s press conference on Friday afternoon, and as we reported: the Commission has not yet received official notification on the matter, and the plan would go against the official resolution adopted by all EU member states in 2017, so for the time being, it is questionable whether the Hungarian plan can be implemented.
Although MTI reported on Katalin Novák’s press conference in Prague, it did not report on the above statement, but on the fact that, in response to a question, the Czech head of state stated that he supports the relocation of the Czech embassy from Tel Aviv to Jerusalem. However, it is important to know that Zeman has only been in office for a few days, and Novák paid an unofficial visit to his elected successor, Petr Pavel, on Friday, but Pavel’s position on this issue is not known.
Portfolio conducted a major interview with Katalin Novák the other day about current affairs, which is available here:
Cover image source: MTI/Noémi Bruzák. President of the Republic Katalin Novák and outgoing Czech President Milos Zeman hold a press conference after their meeting in the Presidential Palace in Prague on March 3, 2023.
