Szijjarto: Govt rejects doubts over Hungary's democratic nature

The Hungarian government is always prepared to engage in dialogue on specific issues and laws but it firmly rejects remarks that call into question Hungary's democratic nature, Foreign Minister Peter Szijjarto told the United Nations Human Rights Council in Geneva on Tuesday. Hungary does not feel a need for any external authority or any other country to certify its democratic nature, the foreign ministry cited Szijjarto as saying at the council's session held as part of Hungary's Universal Periodic Review (UPR). The minister said Hungary in recent years had faced "politically-motivated" criticisms of the state of the rule of law in the country because it had a right-wing Christian Democratic government that pursues "patriotic policies" that are in its national interest and was committed to its national identity and heritage, adding that this went against the international liberal mainstream.