Hungary is interested in Ukraine becoming a strong, stable and democratic country, stands up for its territorial unity and independence, and at the same time expects it to respect the rights of national communities, including the Hungarian community, the Minister of Foreign Affairs and Trade stated on Monday, during a one-day meeting of foreign ministers of the EU member states , after its informal meeting held via video link.
In his video posted on Facebook, Péter Szijjártó recalled: In Ukraine, in recent years, the rights of the Hungarian community have been continuously violated, among other things, regarding the use of language in the fields of culture, media, public administration and education. Hungary
"he noted with shock the intimidating procedures against the leaders of the Transcarpathian Hungarian community, just as the fact that actions were launched to detect people with dual citizenship does not help a relationship based on mutual trust"
he announced.
According to his information, during the meeting he asked the Ukrainian Foreign Minister Dmitro Kuleba, who joined the meeting, to respect minority rights and to avoid setting up the Hungarian national community in such a way that this community could pose any kind of threat to Ukraine's territorial integrity. He stated: Transcarpathian Hungarians can always count on the support of the mother country, the Hungarian government.
"We will always stand up for Transcarpathian Hungarians and legal people in every international forum"
said the minister.
Hungary supports Ukraine, among other things, by providing vacation opportunities for more than two thousand Ukrainian children whose parents are involved in the fighting in the eastern half of the country. Hungary also undertook the medical treatment of more than forty Ukrainian soldiers, supplied gas to Ukraine, which was suffering from a shortage of gas, provided the country with fifty ventilators, and provided more than 10 million dollars in aid for the operation of hospitals in order to succeed in the fight against the coronavirus epidemic, he pointed out.
The Hungarian expectation that Ukraine respects its bilateral and international commitments, including the rights of Hungarians, is therefore justified, he underlined. The Minister of Foreign Affairs and Trade said that Hungary expressed its solidarity with Poland for the arrest of the leader of the Polish national community living in Belarus, and also with the Czech Republic for its diplomatic dispute with Russia.
"Hungary knows exactly what it's like when the rights of a national community are violated, since Transcarpathian Hungarians are also forced to face such an attitude"
he said.
Péter Szijjártó said about the new partnership agreement that replaced the Cotonou agreement and was signed last week with a group of African, Caribbean and Pacific states, that the agreement is basically about strengthening migration and encouraging migration processes. He said that Hungary opposed the relevant part of the agreement, because it believes that the further encouragement of migration poses serious health and economic risks. Regarding the situation in Ethiopia, he said that Hungary's attention is focused on protecting the Christian community, and so far it has provided around 2.5 million dollars in aid to the community living there. He expressed his hope for the stabilization and peace of the country and also that the region does not become a starting point for new migration processes. In connection with the situation in Lebanon, the minister stated that Hungary rejects all attempts, according to which some European countries are trying to exert pressure on the party representing the Christian community. Hungary's position is that Europe, the European Union, must stand by Christians, wherever they live in the world, Péter Szijjártó added.
MTI
