Putin about Hungarian re-annexation of Ukraine’s Transcarpathia in Tucker Carlson-interview
Russian President Vladimir Putin gave a more than 2-hour-long interview to former US Fox News anchorman Tucker Carlson in Moscow. During the interview, he talked about whether he ever mentioned the Hungarian re-annexation of Ukraine’s Transcarpathia and his journey to the Western Ukrainian region, where almost 100 thousand Hungarians live.
Ukraine’s Transcarpathia: not the home of separatism!
Not many foreigners tend to know, but those Hungarians did not choose to move to Ukraine. The borders moved above their heads. Hungarians born in e.g. Beregszász (Berehove), a town with a Hungarian majority close to the Hungarian border, in 1910 lived their lives in five different countries despite never leaving the settlement. They were born as citizens of the Austro-Hungarian Empire. In 1920, they became citizens of the newly formed Czechoslovakia. In 1938, they returned to the Hungarian Kingdom, and then, in 1944, they became the citizens of the Soviet Union. Finally, in 1991, they were granted Ukrainian citizenship in the newly-former Ukraine.
Of course, they wanted to preserve their language, culture, and traditions regardless of the country they lived in. Therefore, the Ukrainian nationalists regularly try to charge them with separatism, but such attacks lack any basis.
Since the armed conflict with Russia broke out in 2014, such allegations have come forth quite often. As a result, in 2018, for example, the central office of a Hungarian party in Ukraine was set ablaze.
Ukrainian politicians regularly claim that Hungary wants to take back Transcarpathia. That is why PM Orbán did not send weapons to Ukraine or block the country’s EU aid or EU accession before. They do not consider the fact that shortly after the first weapon delivery arrived in Transcarpathia, a Russian rocket destroyed a radio broadcaster there as a warning. And that was the only attack yet in Transcarpathia following the country’s 2022 Russian invasion.
Furthermore, they do not consider another matter. PM Orbán regularly tries to open up more room to manoeuvre in the European Union. Probably that is why he did not back Ukraine’s financial aid or EU accession for the first time last December. In return, Orbán wanted e.g. more money from the frozen EU RRF and development funds. He was unsuccessful. But such moves cannot be regarded as anti-Ukraine.
Putin offered Transcarpathia to Orbán?
Concerning Transcarpathia, the Hungarian government always expressed support towards Ukraine’s territorial integrity. And that is what Putin confirmed in his interview with Tucker Carlson.
Carlson’s question was quite unequivocal: “Have you told Viktor Orbán that he can have part of Ukraine?” “Never, I have never told him. Not a single time. We have not even had any conversations on that. But I actually know for sure that Hungarians who live there wanted to get back their historical lands”.
Putin also shared details about a trip to Transcarpathia’s Beregszász (Berehove).
“Somewhere in the early eighties, I went on a roadtrip in a car, from then Leningrad across the Soviet Union through Kyiv. We stopped in Kyiv, and then we went to Western Ukraine. I went to the town of Berehove (Beregszász in Hungarian, ed. note). All the names of towns and villages were in Russian and a language I did not understand: in Hungarian. In Russian and in Hungarian. Not in Ukrainian – in Russian and in Hungarian. I was driving through a village and men were sitting next to the houses. They were wearing black three-piece suits and black hats. I asked, are they some kind of entertainers? I was told no, they were not entertainers, they were Hungarians. I said, what are they doing here? What do you mean? This is their land, they live here. This was during the Soviet times during the 1980s. They preserved the Hungarian language, the Hungarian names, and all their national costumes. They are Hungarians and they feel like Hungarians“, the Russian president highlighted.
Putin wanted to continue with the infringement of the Hungarians’ language use rights, but Carlson interrupted. The two started to talk about other redrawn borders of the 20th century and dropped the problem of Transcarpathia and local Hungarians.
However, Putin’s reply on the matter was clear. They have never talked with the Hungarian prime minister about a re-annexation of the territory where fewer and fewer Hungarians live due to the war, poverty and Ukrainian ultra-nationalism.
Read also:
- Meeting of Hungarian and Ukrainian foreign ministers held, with the Hungarian side asking for 11-point changes – Read more HERE
- Terrorist attack in Ukrainian region populated by Hungarians – check out the 18+ VIDEO and more in THIS article
Here is the full interview:
This piece reads like an op ed. Its title should be, “What I think motivates Orban on the question of Ukraine – the thoughts of a Transcarpathian Hungarian.”
Just like when Putin told Orban in January ’22 that there would be no invasion of Ukraine.
Hmm who do we believe the liar is?
Maybe both? Maybe they had a conversation and agreed that they never had then conversation?
Go Vladi go.
It is time for critics of PM Orban realize that the aim of the government is to allow for the Hungarian ethnic community to survive in Ukraine.
It is interesting that President Putin actually knows the history of Transcarpathia’s history. It is incredible that that little parcel of land belonged to 5 different regimes and managed to retain their Hungarian language and culture. Transcarpathians’ would not consider for one moment to cede sovereignty to EU and globalists. The opposition members should copy Transcarpathian people’s pride in their heritage and be proud Hungarians. The civil society members should be ashamed for wanting to make Hungary into a multicultural state.
Thank you Mr. Calson for asking President Putin for that question.
In the U.S. and throughout there are many pockets of Europeans, Poles, Hungarians, Italians, Finns, and they all keep their pockets well aware of their ancestory, but they do not demand that the country that governs them give them the land, even if they are in a majority of that area. Here, Victor shows that he is totally in line with the twisted history of Putin, demanding that “Great Hungary” be restored to it’s former glory by taking parts of other countries that it lost HUNDRED YEARS AGO. Move on Victor, move on Putin, live in the today, not in the yesterday. Putin will never be a Czar, Victor will never be a Hapsburg king, that is the reality and their politics just serve to divide people and distract from their failures as leaders.
Thanks to Tucker Carlson’s prior interview with Orbán where the plight of the Hungarian minority in Zakarpatia was brought up as it was in the Putin interview, the world now sees the reality of Ukraine as a multi-ethnic artificial state restricting the rights of these minorities.
Ukraine will soon lose the war in spite of the billions thrown at it and. Only time and the CIA/Putin feud will show the outcome
The reality is there would never been the war if trump had been president. Especially with Orban help.
The fact Putin is a very intelligent man dealing with weak people -Soros funded left in tthe EU-US-UK. Like it or not -Putin stabilized country that was out of control after the fall of the USSR and it’s biggest nuclear weapon. It has living standard equal to Eastern Europe and it only been 30 years the Russian people know – just ask them -before Putin or after.
How dare Tucker go to the fact he was so amazed what he saw when he is one of the most informed person in the west.
Victor’s history, if you listened to Mr. Carlson’s interview you would have heard President Putin say that he and PM Orban never discussed the return of the said land to Hungary. Interesting that Russia avoided bombing Transcarpathia. Thank you, Mr. Putin.
This also demonstrate that multiculturalism does not work.
Mr. Putin is a very impressive leader. I do not agree with his and Russia’s policies, however I respect the choice of the majority of Russians.
Compared to President Biden, President Putin is definitely more impressive.
The question is the continuing war in Ukraine, supported by the US, will have the desired effect?