Hungarian FM discusses attack on KMKSZ building in Ukraine with OSCE chief

Foreign Minister Péter Szijjártó on Wednesday discussed this week’s attack on the headquarters of ethnic Hungarian cultural association KMKSZ in Uzhhorod (Ungvár), in western Ukraine’s Transcarpathia region, with the head of the Organisation for Security and Cooperation in Europe (OSCE).

Speaking at a press conference on a different subject, Szijjártó said that in his telephone conversation with Thomas Greminger, he had repeated Hungary’s proposal that the OSCE’s special monitoring mission to Ukraine should establish a presence in Transcarpathia as well.

The OSCE’s job is to prevent conflicts, Szijjártó said, adding that if the situation in Transcarpathia stayed as it currently is, it could have “dramatic consequences”.

Szijjártó said that carrying out Hungary’s initiative “would only be a matter of political will”, arguing that Greminger had confirmed that there was no legal obstacle to following through with it.

The minister lamented the international community’s “silence” on the attack, saying that no country had spoken out against it or expressed its solidarity with Hungary.

He said the situation in Ukraine was “serious”, with “nationalistic views gaining ground”. Szijjártó said this was also demonstrated by “the fact that Hungarians in Transcarpathia face constant intimidation”.

Tuesday’s attack and the fact that it happened in a country looking to deepen its ties to both NATO and the European Union “crosses every line”, he said.

Szijjártó said the Hungarian government will provide KMKSZ with any financial assistance it may need.

featured image: MTI

Source: MTI