The newly appointed Ukrainian foreign minister visited our country.

Both Hungary and Ukraine are interested in the development of neighborly relations, they share the same intention to do so, the government is doing everything to achieve this, but expects Kiev to restore the rights of the Hungarian national community, Minister of Foreign Affairs and Trade Péter Szijjártó said on Monday in Budapest.

According to the ministry's announcement, at the joint press conference held with his Ukrainian counterpart, the head of the ministry first congratulated Andrij Szibiha on his appointment and called it an honor that he chose Budapest as the location of his first visit abroad, even if it did not work out in the end due to scheduling problems.

After that, he confirmed that Hungary continues to take a pro-peace position in the war in Ukraine, because only a diplomatic settlement could end the suffering of hundreds of thousands and millions of people and families.

"Hungary supports all international initiatives that bring the possibility of achieving peace as soon as possible, and we support all initiatives that promise the hope that this war can be ended through negotiations and diplomacy as soon as possible," he emphasized.

I also confirmed to the Minister that Hungary will continue the largest-scale humanitarian action in its history as long as it is needed, in order to help people and families in difficult situations, he added.

He reminded that the number of refugees who came to our country from neighboring countries has already exceeded 1.4 million, and 14,855 Ukrainian children have been given the opportunity to attend summer camps. He also mentioned that the government has already spent HUF 66 billion on subsidies to Ukraine, and today there are hundreds of schools and kindergartens in Hungary where children of refugee families study, and a bilingual school has also started operating in Budapest.

"Hungary is ready to take part in the reconstruction of Ukraine, this is not just a communication panel on our part, it is what is happening. Even during the war, we took part in reconstruction efforts, and we take part in the work necessary to restore the functioning of educational, health and administrative institutions," he pointed out.

Péter Szijjártó underlined the role of our country in the natural gas and electricity deliveries necessary for the security of the Ukrainian energy supply.

"Since the war broke out, more than three billion cubic meters of natural gas have been transported to Ukraine through Hungary, and the situation is that since June Hungary has been providing Ukraine with the largest source of electricity imports. "During the summer, 45 percent of Ukrainian electricity imports came to Ukraine from Hungary, via Hungary," he said.

"Hungary is ready to develop cross-border infrastructure.

The good news is that this year we can open a new border crossing between Nagyhódos and Nagypalád. We are ready to carry out the necessary work to increase the capacity of the Beregsurány border crossing. We are ready to build the new Tisza bridge. With the financial support of the government, the large transshipment station at Fényeslitke was created with the financial support of fifty billion forints, where goods equivalent to one million container units per year can be transshipped, and where it is possible to transship one or three million tons of grain and cooking oil each year," he listed.

And I also confirmed that we are still ready to create a cross-border business development zone at the Hungarian-Ukrainian border - he emphasized.

Finally, the minister touched upon the controversial issues and stated that the Hungarian-Ukrainian cooperation and relationship must be based on mutual goodwill, mutual respect and mutual goodwill.

Therefore, we respectfully expect Ukraine to restore the rights of the Hungarian national community in terms of access to the mother tongue, in the fields of education, culture, and public administration, he said.

"Regarding this, we submitted eleven specific solutions to the government of Ukraine. Working groups were created to discuss this, and we agreed to speed up their operation," he added.

The minister asked his official partner that, just as Hungary ensures the full capacity of energy deliveries to Ukraine, Kiev should also refrain from unilateral, sudden steps in the future that could endanger the supply of our country.

And I also asked the minister that there should be no negative discrimination in the case of Hungarian companies operating in Ukraine, he said.

"Our meeting convinced me that we can rightly hope that the intention to develop neighborly relations is mutual and common, that these neighborly relations can turn into good neighborly relations after a while. Hungary is interested in this, and we will do everything we can to achieve this on behalf of the Hungarian government," he concluded.

MTI

Cover image: Péter Szijjártó Minister of Foreign Affairs and Trade (j) and Ukrainian Foreign Minister Andrij Szibiha at a press conference held at the Ministry of Foreign Affairs and Trade on September 30, 2024, after their meeting.
Source: MTI/Róbert Hegedüs