Council of Europe's Committee of Ministers meeting ends in scandal - Espreso correspondent

Espreso correspondent Tetyana Vysotska reported this from Strasbourg.

"Today, on May 17, the meeting of the Committee of Ministers of the Council of Europe ended unexpectedly and scandalously. Hungarian Foreign Minister Péter Szijjártó, speaking at a closed-door meeting of foreign ministers, suddenly called for urgent peace talks between Ukraine and Russia, and also called for an end to arms supplies to Ukraine. He emphasized that Russia should be at the negotiating table and suggested that this wording be included in the final version of the ministerial committee's resolution, which was to be approved today. Of course, Szijjártó’s proposal was put to a vote, but it was rejected by other participants of the ministerial meeting," the Espreso correspondent commented.

According to her, Szijjártó vetoed the declaration of the ministerial conference in response to the rejection of his proposal, and thus the document was not adopted.

"However, the committee found a way out and the document will be approved, but from the state of Liechtenstein, which is currently chairing the Committee of Ministers of the Council of Europe. This document contains very important points - a call for the creation of a special tribunal for aggression, Russian crimes against Ukraine, and the issue of creating a mechanism for compensation for the damage that Russia has caused to Ukraine. The declaration also calls for any peaceful regulation and peace negotiations to be based only on Zelenskyy's peace plan, which includes the withdrawal of Russian troops from Ukraine's borders. This is exactly what the Hungarian delegation did not like and left the Council of Europe premises ahead of time," summarized Tetyana Vysotska.

• On May 17, Hungarian Foreign Minister Péter Szijjártó announced that he will veto a Council of Europe resolution supporting President Volodymyr Zelenskyy's Peace Formula.