Hungary and Ukraine would consult on the minority bills the Ukrainian government was drafting.
Szijjártó said Hungary viewed Transcarpahtian ethnic Hungarians as an asset and a link between the two countries. “When we support the ethnic Hungarian community, we’re also strengthening Hungarian-Ukrainian cooperation in line with our beliefs,” he said. “So we ask Ukraine’s citizens to see the support coming from Hungary in that light.”
As regards bilateral projects, Szijjártó said the plans for the revamp of a bridge over the river Tisza near Záhony were complete and that Hungary was prepared to open new border crossing points between Nagyhodos and Palád. Also, the government is prepared to support road construction projects in Transcarpathia with a 50 million euro loan, he added.
Hungary has so far supported 34,000 Transcarpathian development project bids
with 16 billion forints (EUR 44.6m) in loans and is prepared to extend the M3 and M34 motorways to the Ukrainian border and contribute to building the country’s infrastructure, the minister added.
Concerning humanitarian support, Szijjarto said Hungary has hosted 2,300 Ukrainian children from families affected by conflict in eastern Ukraine in summer camps. The camps will be organised again this summer if the pandemic allows it, he added. In response to a question, Szijjártó said Hungary has so far
treated 42 Ukrainian soldiers injured in the fighting in the country’s eastern Donbass region,
adding that this programme, too, would continue. Szijjártó also noted that Hungary has donated 50 ventilators to Ukraine, 46 of which have gone to hospitals outside Transcarpathia.
Kuleba said there was no basis to assume that the ethnic Hungarian community in Transcarpathia was leaning towards separatism
or that Ukraine wanted to harm its Hungarian community in any way.
Kuleba condemned all forms of discrimination against Ukraine’s Hungarian minority and also slammed as “unacceptable” anti-Ukrainian rhetoric “coming from certain political groups”. The minister said Hungary continued to support his country in the European Union as well as its territorial integrity and sovereignty.
Kuleba said a planned meeting between Hungarian Prime Minister Viktor Orban and Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky was still on the agenda. The two countries are working to make the meeting as successful as possible so that it could allow them to open a new chapter in bilateral relations, he added.
As we reported before, several Hungarian diplomatic representations, including the embassy in Kiev, received a letter from Ukrainian nationalists yesterday saying that if Hungarian Foreign Minister Péter Szijjártó crossed the border, “they would act.” The signature of the letter reads “Ukrainian patriots”. Not only the embassy in Kiev but also the consulate general in Ungvár (Uzhhorod), the consulate in Beregszász (Berehove), the Egan Ede Centre for Economic Development in Kárpátalja, and the Ferenc Rákóczi II Transcarpathian Hungarian College of Higher Education received one.
The writings say that the Ukrainian patriots are fed up with Hungarian Foreign Minister Péter Szijjártó, and that is why they will act if he crosses the border. They state that they became tired of watching how
Hungary would like to take away the territory of Ukraine.
That is why they will take radical actions. “If your minister comes to Ukraine, prepare for a huge bloodshed as Hungarian blood will flow,” they conclude.
Source: MTI
1 Comment
Transcarparhia was stolen from Hungary by the Soviets and given to the Ukraine. If the minority is such a problem for the Ukraine government, then return the stolen territory.