Hungary Reopens Embassy in War-torn Country

Hungary will reopen its embassy in Damascus, the capital of Syria, the Minister of Foreign Affairs and Trade announced on his Facebook page on Monday. Péter Szijjártó wrote that in recent weeks much of the world’s attention has been focused on

By: hungarytoday.hu

Jan 06 2025
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Hungary Reopens Embassy in War

Hungary will reopen its embassy in Damascus, the capital of Syria, the Minister of Foreign Affairs and Trade announced on his Facebook page on Monday.

Péter Szijjártó wrote that in recent weeks much of the world’s attention has been focused on the events in Syria. Now that armed clashes have calmed down and local security conditions have stabilized, “we have decided to reopen Hungary’s Embassy in Damascus,” he announced.

According to the Minister, the restoration of Hungary’s personal presence on the ground will allow us to receive first-hand, credible information on developments in the country, to represent our political position and to intervene on behalf of Hungarian citizens when necessary.

Hungary has an interest in peace and stability in the Middle East, and we are also paying particular attention to the Christian communities in the region, for whom we will continue to provide humanitarian assistance.

We always speak out strongly in favor of respecting the rights of Christian communities, and this is also the case in Syria,” Péter Szijjártó stressed.

Fact

The Syrian civil war is an ongoing multi-sided conflict in Syria involving various state-sponsored and non-state actors. It started in March 2011, when popular discontent with the rule of Bashar al-Assad triggered large-scale protests and pro-democracy rallies across Syria, as part of the wider Arab Spring protests in the region. After months of crackdown by the government’s security apparatus, various armed rebel groups such as the Free Syrian Army began forming across the country, marking the beginning of the Syrian insurgency. By mid-2012, the insurgency had escalated into a full-blown civil war.

After a 4 year long ceasefire between 2020 and 2024, heavy fighting renewed with a major rebel offensive in the northwest led by Tahrir al-Sham and supported by allied groups in the Turkish-backed Syrian National Army in November 2024. By December 8, rebel forces had seized the capital, Damascus. Following this, the Assad regime collapsed, with al-Assad fleeing to Moscow.

The Foreign Minister highlighted that the Hungarian ambassador back in Damascus was the first and so far the only Western diplomat to visit the leaders of the two largest Christian denominations, who gave Hungary information on how the Christian communities have experienced the events of the past weeks. Péter Szijjártó recalled that the church leaders thanked Hungary for its strong support for Syrian Christians and for the solidarity that is unfortunately becoming increasingly rare in such uncertain times for European countries.

As Hungary Today reported earlier, it was announced at the beginning of last December that the Hungarian Embassy in Damascus has been closed due to escalating violence in Syria. To manage consular affairs, the Hungarian Embassy in Beirut had temporarily taken over, providing assistance to Hungarian nationals in the region.

Hungary Provides Humanitarian Aid for Christians in Syria