Hungarian FM Peter Szijjarto with Israeli FM Gabi Ashkenazi
Hungarian FM Peter Szijjarto with Israeli FM Gabi AshkenaziREUTERS/Ronen Zvulun

Hungary's Foreign Minister Péter Szijjártó has promised that his country will support Israel, regardless of who Israel's prime minister is, Israel Hayom reported.

"The relationship with Israel will not change, even if someone else is in power," he told Israel Hayom Wednesday night in the exclusive interview.

"We respect the democratic decisions of other countries, and do not interfere with them. So the relationship and policies towards Israel will remain the same."

He admitted that "personal connections have an influence," but emphasized again that "we will support Israel in the international forums, regardless of who is in the position" of prime minister.

Szijjártó recently visited Israel as a guest of Foreign Minister Gabi Ashkenazi (Blue and White). During his trip, he visited a Petah Tikva home which had sustained a direct hit from a Gaza rocket.

"The clock on the wall stopped at the second the rocket hit the house," he recalled. "I am lucky that I have not experienced war. It's inconceivable that people fire rockets from areas filled with civilians - towards a civilian population."

Hungary opposed Europe's ceasefire plan and vetoed it, he said, explaining: "the European Union needs to speak in a clear voice about the facts. Israel was attacked by Hamas, a terror organization. Israel and Hamas are not on equal footing, and Israel has the right to protect itself. None of this was mentioned in the draft of the decision, so we vetoed it."