Encouraging steps have been taken towards the restoration of the atmosphere of trust between Hungary and Ukraine, but there is still a long way to go, and a lot of work will be required, which our country is ready for, said Péter Szijjártó, who met his Ukrainian counterpart in Ungvár in Subcarpathia. The purpose of the gathering is primarily to prepare the Hungarian-Ukrainian summit .
The press conference of Péter Szijjártó, his Ukrainian official colleague Dmitro Kuleba, and Andrij Jermak, the head of the Ukrainian presidential office, began on Monday at the Verhovina Hotel near Ungvár, amid huge media interest.
Dmitro Kuleba spoke first. The head of Ukrainian diplomacy called the restoration of good neighborly relations a common interest.
He said that they mostly talked about the situation of national minorities, because this is not a simple issue and has been a topic for a very long time, so I would like to properly settle this controversial issue from both sides.
Kuleba informed: Péter Szijjártó listed the issues that require clarification and adjustment in this aspect.
They will create an operative working group, which will have ten days to find solutions for the final closure of the minority issues, which they intend to settle at the intergovernmental commission level.
Péter Szijjártó was the first to praise Governor Viktor Mikita's efforts to preserve ethnic peace in Transcarpathia. He recalled that a few days after the outbreak of the war, he met Mikita at the border in Czapon, and there he told him that they would help him in everything.
The position of the Hungarian government and Hungary is consistent: we stand by the sovereignty and territorial integrity of Ukraine, stated the Hungarian Minister of Foreign Affairs and Trade.
"We condemn the war and want peace as soon as possible. This morning I visited the Ungvár cemetery, where I paid my respects to the victims. Efforts must be multiplied, because saving human lives is only possible with peace," the minister stated.
He reminded that Hungary has accepted more than one million refugees from Ukraine, and more than 5,000 Ukrainian children attend Hungarian schools. And in Ukraine, half a million families were reached in 20 Ukrainian counties through Hungarian humanitarian assistance.
They discussed issues affecting bilateral relations.
Szijjártó touched on the fact that since 2015, legislation has been passed step by step that has curtailed the rights of the Hungarian minority. The director of foreign affairs in Budapest emphasized: last year, the Ukrainian parliament adopted a framework law on minorities, which stopped this negative spiral.
"But we have one expectation, and that is that the Hungarian minority will get back the rights they had before 2015, we are not asking for much. We summarized them in eleven points. Among them, legal status at school, the possibility of graduation in Hungarian, the use of the Hungarian language in the field of culture and higher education," said Péter Szijjártó.
He called it very important that they were also able to achieve positive results in terms of joint cross-border infrastructural developments. They are within arm's reach of opening the Nagyhódos-Nagypalád border crossings, which can relieve the existing border crossings, they agreed on the construction of a new Tisza bridge, and discussed the development of additional border crossings.
The Hungarian minister emphasized that they came here with the aim of being able to rebuild the atmosphere of trust, and they took steps in this direction. As he put it: "... but we have a lot of work to do in this area, but Hungary is open and ready to continue negotiations."
After Kuleba and Szijjártó, Andrij Jermak spoke.
The head of the Ukrainian presidential office revealed that, of course, the topic was the Orbán-Zelensky meeting, and they got closer to it, which would mark a new page in the history of the two countries.
He noted that he will also have a meeting with representatives of the local Hungarian community, recalling that President Volodymyr Zelenskyi had previously had a positive meeting with Hungarian community and church leaders in Beregszász.
After the press statements, the journalist's questions could follow. During this, it was discussed what position Hungary will take regarding the 50 billion euro loan package intended for Ukraine at the extraordinary EU summit on February 1st.
There was no clear answer to the question, the Hungarian position will become definitively clear in Brussels.
Cover image: The Hungarian and Ukrainian negotiating delegation at work
Source: Facebook/Péter Szijjártó
