Hungary to propose to Ukraine restoring ties, says foreign minister

Hungary will propose to Ukraine’s new president that bilateral relations should “return to the old path”, an era when the Hungarian community in the neighboring country’s Transcarpathia region could fully exercise their acquired minority rights, the foreign minister said on the sidelines of an international conference on Wednesday.

Szijjártó attended a conference on reforms in Ukraine in Toronto.

Speaking to MTI by phone, Péter Szijjártó noted that the previous president, Petro Poroshenko, pursued an anti-Hungarian policy.

The education and language laws adopted during his term violate the Hungarian community’s rights, he said.

The laws are in conflict with European standards, as well as with international law and bilateral obligations, he said.

Now with a new president in office there is hope that Ukraine will not continue to pursue an anti-Hungarian policy, he said, adding that Volodymyr Zelensky’s statements “had so far been encouraging”, giving hope for optimism.