E.D. Hill: President Bush
was looking for allies in the war on terror. Guess who was right
there? Hungary, one of the first countries to step up and say "we
are with you."
Steve Doocy: And joining us
right now is Hungarian Minister of Foreign Affairs László Kovács.
Good morning. Thank you for joining us.
László Kovács: Good
morning. Thank you very much for the invitation.
S.D.: At the United
Nations, the United States would like to get that resolution passed
where we get international help. Can we count on Hungary?
L.K.: Yes, certainly.
Hungary is a very close and reliable ally to the United States. Not
only on the Iraqi issue but on a lot of other international issues.
Brian Kilmeade: In the last
four years you have been a member of NATO. NATO played a major role in
Afghanistan. Would you like to see NATO playing a major role in Iraq?
L.K.: I think that the more
international the mission, the better it is for the Iraqi people and
also for the world. It's certainly not an issue which is in the
interest of the United States only. It's in the interest of the
region and it's in the interest, first of all, of the Iraqi people
to have peace there, to have stability there. And Hungary is ready to
contribute. We have 300 troops there already, contributing to the
stabilization.
E.D.H.: Mr. Kovács, when
the old Europe was juxtaposed with the new Europe, how did you react
to that? Is that accurate? Is there a new Europe and an old Europe in
terms of the way that they think?
L.K.: Not very much so.
There are some different views on different issues, and that was the
case with the Iraqi operation. Hungary was one of the countries that
supported the United States because we thought that there was no other
solution. And even a summit meeting of the European Union before the
operation stated already that, as a last resort, the U.S. or the
international community can apply some military force - and that was
the last resort. The difference was only whether the moment came or
not. And we shared the view that the moment came, because it would
have been too risky for us to wait for Saddam Hussein to do something
against humanity.
S.D.: Your chair is closer
to the action than ours is. Does it appear that President Bush has
mended fences with France or do you think there is going to be some
tension there for a while?
L.K.: I think that the
tension will disappear. Quite recently, there was a summit meeting
between the German Chancellor and President Bush and it was
successful. And I think one day - the sooner the better - that
one day the tension will disappear between the U.S. and France.
E.D.H.: We certainly
appreciate Hungary being right there with us. It is nice. It is a nice
feeling when you have a lot of people standing against you to know
there are friends that are right there through the thick and thin.
Hungary is one of them. Mr. Kovács, thank you for coming.
