Hungarian Foreign Minister Péter Szijjártó expressed hope that a U.S.-Russia wrestling event in Budapest could help ease tensions between the two countries, similarly to how ‘ping-pong diplomacy’ contributed to improved U.S.-China relations in the 1970s.
In a Facebook post on Monday, Szijjártó referred to the ‘Wrestling for Peace’ event, organized by the Professional Wrestling League (PWL), as a potential step toward diplomatic thaw.
The freestyle wrestling match between American and Russian teams was held on Monday, July 21st, in ten weight categories at the Kozma István Hungarian Wrestling Academy. High-ranking officials, including Russian Wrestling Federation President Mikhail Mamiashvili and U.S. Wrestling Executive Director Rich Bender, were in attendance.
“Peace through sport!,” the minister wrote in his post.
