Orban meets bishop of Erbil

Prime Minister Viktor Orban met Mar Abris Youkhanan, bishop of Erbil, for talks in Budapest on Thursday. According to the prime minister's press office, parties at the talks discussed Hungary's obligations within global Christianity. They concluded that "the Christian foundations of Hungary and of Europe cannot be reinforced without regard to the ancient eastern Christian communities". Hungary "does not wish to help persecuted Christians in the East in an impersonal way, and this is why the government has decided to provide aid to communities in need directly rather than through large international organisations," Orban's press chief said. "We provide aid where people are in need and suffer from persecution rather than importing problems to Hungary," Bertalan Havasi said. He added that the aid Hungary has provided so far "has helped many thousands of Middle Eastern Christians stay in their homeland without having to live the life of a migrant".