It is not a matter of compromise or opinion that Hungary does not allow weapons and soldiers to cross the Hungarian-Ukrainian border, stated the State Secretary responsible for international communication and relations in an interview with Sky News Arabia on Friday, which he shared on his Facebook page on Saturday.
When asked why Hungary does not want to fulfill the demands of Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky, for example to allow soldiers to cross the Hungarian-Ukrainian border, Zoltán Kovács emphasized that Hungary has always taken a very firm position due to historical examples and lessons.
He said: "this is the will of the Hungarian people, so it is not a matter of compromise or opinion", but "a mandate that the Prime Minister represented on behalf of the Hungarian people and cannot be questioned".
Speaking about energy, he emphasized that, in the short term, due to the real situation, "there is no place for any kind of emotional or speculative approach". And the thing is that
85 percent of Hungary's oil reserves and 65 percent of gas come from Russia.
He also said that, for the time being, Hungary's position regarding Russian energy very definitely coincides with the interests of most of Europe. He added: they are working hard to make the sanctions introduced against Russia effective, but "there are insurmountable boundaries", and all this is not a matter of opinion or emotion, but a hard reality, stated Zoltán Kovács.
He touched on the fact that when it comes to the delivery of soldiers or weapons to Ukraine, the government has the interests of the 150,000 Transcarpathian Hungarians in mind. In the past, their right to exist has been questioned many times, extremists - at least verbally - abused them several times, not only in Ukraine, but also in several other places in Europe. That is why we "pay special attention to their situation" and that is one of the reasons why we do not carry weapons.
According to his assessment, Hungarian-Ukrainian relations have always been very clear.
The Hungarian national interest is that Ukraine's territorial sovereignty remains intact.
On the other hand, Ukraine must fully fulfill the expectations of all international organizations, from the UN to the European Union or NATO, when it comes to national minorities and their linguistic or human rights, the state secretary stated.
Speaking about the refugees arriving in Hungary, Zoltán Kovács emphasized: regardless of the burden and cost, Hungary cares about refugees and does not discriminate between those who flee for their lives to Hungary from a neighboring country.
At the same time, migration pressure remains strong on Europe's southern borders.
The Hungarian principle is quite simple:
"we are fully committed to those who flee to Hungary as the first safe country". But "we say no to illegal migrants", "who cross dozens of borders without any permission or following the rules, saying they are refugees", when in fact they are migrants who come to Europe in the hope of a better life, he stressed.
At the same time, he noted, under the current circumstances it is particularly dangerous to withhold European funds belonging to Hungary. That is why Hungary requests the funds actually due to it from the Recovery Fund, as well as the funds available in the next seven-year, new financial cycle of the European Union.
Source and full article: hirado.hu/Zoltán Kovács Facebook
Featured Image: Facebook
