Minister: Hungary wants to be Ukraine’s friend
“Our long history has shown us that the key for survival in these times is the depth of Christian faith,” head of the Prime Minister’s Office Gergely Gulyás said at a general assembly of the Reformed Church in Transcarpathia on Saturday. He also talked about how Hungary wants to be Ukraine’s friend but there is something that makes it quite hard nowadays.
Gulyás said the ethnic Hungarian community in Transcarpathia is in the most difficult situation of all the communities that make up the world’s Hungarians. “When we help the ethnic Hungarians in Transcarpathia, we also help Ukraine,” he added.
“With disregard for international law, Russia has attacked its neighbour which has defended itself heroically,” he said. Hungary condemns the aggression and “we bow our heads to all the soldiers fighting for their home and for freedom”, he added.
He noted that Hungary has welcomed hundreds of thousands of refugees and acknowledged the work of ethnic Hungarian institutions in Transcarpathia to look after people fleeing warzones.
Humanitarian aid Hungary has offered since the start of the war comes to more than HUF 31 billion (EUR 80 million) and charities have delivered 3,500 tonnes of donations, worth over HUF 8 billion (EUR 20.4 million), to Ukraine, he said.
Hungary wants to be Ukraine’s friend “but this is made difficult today by intentional misunderstandings and steps that violate the rights of the ethnic Hungarian community”, he said.
While Ukraine protests the violation of its sovereignty under international law, it is not right “to neglect basic rights and international norms affecting the ethnic minorities living on its territory”, he said. The Hungarian men that fight under Ukraine’s flag “deserve to be treated as the country’s own”, he added.