religion

President: Hungarians looking forward to welcoming Pope Francis

Hungarian President Katalin Novák

Hungarians are looking forward to welcoming Pope Francis “with great love and prayers”, Katalin Novák, the President of the Republic, said on Twitter on Sunday.

The president was responding to a message by the pontiff thanking Hungary for preparations for his visit. Novák thanked the pope for his “kind words”, and expressed hope that they could pray together in Hungary “for peace, families and for the renewal of faith, hope and love”, MTI wrote.

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Where to meet the Pope in Budapest? – Detailed programme guide

Pope Francis Viktor Orbán pilgrimage

Between 28 and 30 April, His Holiness Pope Francis will be staying in Budapest on an official visit. He will be the fourth on the list of popes who came here during their popeship. The last papal visit to Hungary took place in September 2021.

As we wrote earlier, throughout his three-day stay in the capital, Pope Francis will have a busy schedule. He will not only be meeting with top politicians such as Prime Minister Viktor Orbán and President Katalin Novák, but with ordinary citizens as well. This weekend, there will be several instances when members of the public will have the chance to meet with His Holiness, Szeretlekmagyarország reports.

28 April

The Holy Father arrives in Budapest on Friday the 28th at 10 AM. After having conducted with representatives of political and diplomatic life, Pope Francis will be meeting with ecclesiastical figures such as priests, bishops and monks at St. Stephen’s Basilica. The programme begins at 5 PM, when His Holiness will hold a speech in the church. However, admission is required due to limited space. The event will be broadcast live outside of the basilica. Those interested should start gathering on the square from 4 PM.

29 April

On Saturday morning the Pope will conduct a private visit to care homes and churches, talking with the poor and the refugees. The next public event takes place in the afternoon at László Papp Budapest Sports Arena, at 4:30 PM. The Holy Father will hold another speech and meet with youngsters from around the country. The audience will mostly consist of students from Catholic high schools as well as university students. The dioceses of Hungary will be the ones conducting the programme and attendance. In the evening, His Holiness will also meet with members of the Society of Jesus, aka. the Jesuits.

30 April

You have the best chance to see Pope Francis close up on Sunday the 30th. Starting at 9:30 AM, His Holiness will hold a public mass in front of the Hungarian Parliament, on Kossuth Square. Everyone from Hungary and nearby countries is welcome to attend the religious ceremony. Attendance requires no registration; all visitors are free to enter after a quick security check. Gates open early dawn and will close at 8:15 AM at the latest. Those who arrive late and don’t have space anymore on the square shouldn’t worry either. The prayer will be broadcast live in the surrounding streets.

In the afternoon the Pope will pay one last visit to Pázmány Péter Catholic University, to meet with representatives of cultural and diplomatic life. He leaves Hungary at 5:30 PM by plane.

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Pope’s visit an opportunity to present Hungary’s Christian culture to world

The visit Pope Francis will pay to Hungary provides an opportunity for the country to present to the world its diverse thousand-year Christian culture, the deputy group leader of the allied ruling Christian Democrats (KDNP) said on Wednesday.

Lőrinc Nacsa discussed the pontiff’s visit set for next week at a roundtable with Tamás Tóth, the secretary of the Hungarian Catholic Bishops’ Conference, and Márk Aurél Erszegi, an expert on the Vatican, hosted by the Alliance of Young Christian Democrats in Budapest.

Nacsa noted that at his meeting with various Catholic communities, Pope Francis will have the opportunity to get a more precise idea about the diversity of those communities in Hungary than during his past visit in 2021 when he celebrated the closing mass of the International Eucharistic Congress. “Also, those communities may receive encouragement from the Catholic leader,” he said.

Tóth called it an honour from the pope to be interested in meeting the Hungarian Catholic community for the third time, after having met them first at the traditional mass he celebrated at Sumuleu Ciuc (Csiksomlyó), in central Romania in 2019, and next at the Eucharistic Congress closing mass at Budapest’s Heroes’ Square in 2021. Pope Francis’ interest “can stimulate in us humility and self-reflection and an urge to try to understand the message” of the attention with which he is turning to that community, Tóth added.

Erszegi highlighted the pope’s visit to the Pázmány Péter Catholic University, noting that a papal schedule would normally not include a visit to a university. “The special part of the pope’s visit to Hungary will therefore be this programme,” he said.

Pope Francis will pay a visit to Hungary between April 28 and 30.

Pope Francis will say the same during his Budapest visit about Ukraine as Orbán

Pope Francis Viktor Orbán pilgrimage

The call for peace in Ukraine will be one of the central topics of the speeches Pope Francis will deliver during his visit to Hungary next weekend, Csaba Török, governor of the Esztergom parish and press officer of the Hungarian Catholic Bishops’ Conference, told reporters in Rome on Tuesday.
The pontiff’s speeches and homilies will likely contain a “strong message” in connection with the war, Török said. He noted that Pope Francis had been working to mediate between the warring sides since the start of the conflict. Török said Pope Francis’s visit to Hungary will have a “political message”, adding, at the same time, that the moment of rapprochement between the pope and the Patriarch of Moscow would not happen in Budapest. He did not rule out, however, that representatives of the churches of Kyiv and Moscow would be present during Francis’s visit.

He noted that on the occasion of the closing mass of the 52nd International Eucharistic Congress in Budapest in 2021, Prime Minister Viktor Orban presented Francis as a gift a copy of the letter Hungarian King Bela IV wrote to Pope Innocent IV in the 13th century. The prime minister’s gesture was an intention to establish a relationship with the pope to protect Christianity, he added. The Hungarian government also considers itself an ally of the Vatican when it comes to urging peace in Ukraine, Török said. Pope Francis will pay a visit to Hungary between April 28 and 30.

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VIDEO: Official song of the upcoming papal visit to Hungary has been chosen

the official song of the upcoming Papal Visit to Hungary

The musical song Camino – Christ, You Are My Future has been selected as the official song of the upcoming Papal Visit to Hungary.

The song by Márton Vizy and Dávid Ágoston Tóth was arranged for the event by singers Attila Dolhai, Renáta Szűcs, Szandi, Bogi Nagy, Gergő Dánielfy and Márton Vizy in a new, symphonic version.

Its lyrics reflect perseverance and victory over darkness. The Hungarian authors and stars joined the call of Pope Francis who had asked all people of goodwill to promote peace.

The Hungarian stage musical (2022) on the life of Saint Ignatius of Loyola features Camino, depicting the hazardous pilgrimage of the saint.

“My feet are muddy / My back is wet / And thunder chases me. / But fears are fading clouds / And I’ve crushed the pain by might / In this lunatic true-epic, angelic-demonic / Fight for Light!”

The song will be premiered on 28 April, 2023, in the Papp László Sports Arena, immediately preceding the arrival of Pope Francis.

Performers will include Attila Dolhai, Szandi, Renáta Szűcs, Bogi Nagy, Gergő Dánielfy and Márton Vizy, the Forráspont Band and the 4 Chords Show Choir.

The song is available with English subtitles here:

As we wrote before, Pope Francis will visit Hungary between April 28 and 30, here is the planned program.

Why more than a thousand baskets of food are taken out on Easter Sunday in Szeklerland – photos

Csíkszereda food consecration on Easter Sunday

Every Easter Sunday, the largest traditional food consecration in the Carpathian Basin is held in Csíkszereda (Miercurea Ciuc), where thousands of people always gather.

One of the largest Hungarian-inhabited cities in Szeklerland, Csíkszereda, held the traditional Easter Sunday food consecration. The baskets containing ham, eggs, bread, and wine were blessed by retired auxiliary bishop József Tamás.

In 2020, only live streaming was available, while last year, the service was extended to include a cross, with the obligatory wearing of masks and a two-metre distance between the crosses.

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Peace: the main Easter message of the Hungarian churches

Easter message Hungarian churches

“Those that are in peace with God, should make a sacrifice for peace with other people,” Cardinal Péter Erdő, the head of the Hungarian Catholic Church, told MTI on the occasion of Easter. “Preferring the powers of resurrection when you see the signs of death’s destruction requires a trust in God … but the joy of the resurrection should be sought even when our life most resembles Good Friday,” Zoltán Balog, the head of the synod of the Hungarian Reformed Church, said on Saturday.

Erdő advocates ‘peace with other people’

“Making peace requires sacrifices … but peace and harmony yield more benefits than what we give up through restricting our unbridled ambitions,” the cardinal said. Concerning the war in Ukraine, Erdő said Hungarians had “felt and understood what they had to do: help those in the greatest need and those fleeing their country as much as possible and as it suits them most”, MTI wrote.

Answering a question if the Vatican could help resolve the conflict, Erdő said the Holy See had played an important role in the settlement between Argentina and Chile in the 1970s. He also mentioned Pope Francis’s mediation which helped avoid a US attack on Syria over the latter country’s alleged resort to chemical weapons, in 2013. The Vatican “represents the opinion and wishes of many, which gives its actions so much strength that could bring the warring parties closer to each other,” he said.

On the subject of the pontiff’s upcoming visit to Hungary, Erdő do said its programme, including meeting the poor, refugees, the homeless, and sick children, reflects that Francis “is in community with those suffering and children with multiple sicknesses are especially close to his heart”. He said the pope’s visiting Hungary was “a sign of appreciation for the Hungarian people”. While Francis has already visited Slovakia and Romania, his upcoming visit “will show that he loves these peoples equally”, Erdő said.

Balog: ‘Trust the joy of resurrection’

“Preferring the powers of resurrection when you see the signs of death’s destruction requires a trust in God … but the joy of the resurrection should be sought even when our life most resembles Good Friday,” Zoltán Balog, the head of the synod of the Hungarian Reformed Church, said on Saturday. The bishop told MTI that “despite all appearances, life has the last word”. “Jesus was there on the cross alone so that nobody should ever be alone, that each person could feel the presence of Jesus, who will share his suffering,” he said.

Concerning wars, Balog said “the church now thinks differently than in earlier centuries”. The principle of the “just war” has “changed in the times of weapons of mass destruction — war can never be justified”, he said, adding that “the primary task for the church is not to bless the weapons but to provide spiritual aid to the soldiers forced into war and to the victims”. “We have learnt that we must turn to neighbouring nations with gestures of peace and the will to cooperate even if those intentions are not always reciprocated,” Balog said.

Lutheran leader: Christ’s wounds comfort Europe

The wounds carried by the resurrected Christ can provide comfort to a wounded Europe, Tamas Fabiny, the head of the Evangelical Lutheran Church in Hungary, said on Saturday on the occasion of Easter. Speaking to MTI, Fabiny said the wounds on the body of Jesus provided hope when looking at “the wounded Europe”, refugees, those wounded in the war, and “the wounds of Earth”. “We would think that the ascended Jesus no longer has wounds on his body, but the resurrected Jesus shows his hands, feet and side to Thomas, which still bear the marks of suffering,” Fabiny said.

God came to Earth two thousand years ago, but man is still in need of his help since, he added. The meeting between Jesus and Thomas in the Gospel of John highlights the “miracle of faith”, Fabiny said. Thomas doubts and says he will only believe if he could see and touch Jesus’ wounds, but when he gets the chance, he does not touch him but falls to his knees and says “My Lord and my God!”, Fabiny said. Like Thomas, people often believe only what they can touch and experience, but if Christ is truly there with them, the miracle of faith can happen, Fabiny said. Another aspect of hope provided by Easter, he said, was that “it is not we who go to Jesus, but he who comes to us.” People today have hope that Jesus will find them even if they close their door to him, he said.

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PHOTOS: Jobbik chairman celebrated Passover Seder together with the US ambassador, Jewish leaders

Márton Gyöngyösi Jobbik

Márton Gyöngyösi, the chairman and MEP of Jobbik, a Hungarian opposition party, celebrated with the US ambassador in Budapest, David Pressman, and Hungarian Jewish leaders. Gyöngyösi’s name became world-known after he proposed to the parliament in 2012 to draw up a list of the members of the Hungarian government and parliament of Jewish origins because they may mean a national security risk.

After the speech in the parliament, Gyöngyösi started a tour in Hungary to explain what he meant by his misunderstood words. He explained that he just wanted to know who are Israeli-Hungarian double citizens in the government and the parliament. He wanted to follow the example of Israel in that regard. His sentences initiated global outrage and several protests in Hungary, even the Fidesz protested with the Socialists and liberals against him.

Now it seems that after almost one decade of struggle, he and his party might have cleared their names. That is because David Pressman, the US ambassador in Budapest, invited him to celebrate together Passover Seder with some Hungarian Jewish leaders. He even received the best place since he could sit near the ambassador.

Márton Gyöngyösi, the chairman of the Conservative party elected in 2022, has expressed his support towards the United States and NATO several times. Furthermore, he positioned his party to the centre-right. Moreover, several Jobbik politicians made gestures towards Jewish Hungarians. Probably that is why David Pressman invited him.

Among others, the event was attended by representatives of Mazsihisz, the general representative body of the Jewish community in Hungary, and actor Ervin Nagy, who sat next to Gyöngyösi.

Here are some photos:

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PHOTOS: Orbán pays tribute to late cardinal helping Hungary a lot

Orbán late cardinal

Prime Minister Viktor Orbán paid his last respects at the catafalque of Karl-Joseph Rauber, cardinal and archbishop, former apostolic nuncio to Hungary, in Rome on Friday.

According to information from the PM’s press office, the Hungarian delegation included Zoltan Balog, head of the Hungarian Reformed Church’s Synod, and State Secretary Tristan Azbej. Rabuer died at age 88, on March 26. He served as nuncio to Hungary from 1997 to 2003.

Hungary to contribute to Türkiye’s post-quake reconstruction

Türkiye

Hungary has offered to finance the reconstruction of an orthodox church and a cultural centre in Türkiye following last month’s earthquake, and will help rebuild a hospital destroyed in the disaster, Foreign Minister Péter Szijjártó said on Monday.

Addressing an international donors’ conference in Brussels to support the victims of the Türkiye-Syria earthquake, Szijjarto said Hungary will cover the costs of rebuilding the Syriac Orthodox Church’s St. Peter and St. Paul Church in Adiyaman.

The Hungarian government will also finance the reconstruction of a cultural centre in Osmaniye, which houses a permanent exhibition focused on Hungarian composer Béla Bartók, a ministry statement cited Szijjártó as saying.

In addition, Hungary will contribute to the reconstruction of a hospital chosen by the local authorities, he added.

Meanwhile, Szijjártó said Hungary has earmarked one million US dollars towards programmes launched by Syria’s Christian churches aimed at helping those displaced by the disaster.

He noted that Hungary sent search and rescue teams to Türkiye immediately after the earthquake. The 167 experts and 29 rescue dogs Hungary sent to the disaster zone rescued 35 people, Szijjártó said. Hungary also delivered 120 tonnes of hospital equipment to Türkiye, he added.

Szijjártó expressed hope that Türkiye’s reconstruction efforts would be successful, adding that the country’s chances were good, “knowing Türkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan’s level of determination”.

As we wrote last week, talks between Prime Minister Viktor Orbán and Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan in Ankara focused on the war in Ukraine and energy security issues, details HERE.

Hundreds of thousands of people could gather at the Parliament soon in Budapest

demonstrators_on_kossuth_square_near_the_parliament_in_budapest

Hundreds of thousands of people are expected to attend the holy mass to be held by Pope Francis in Budapest’s Kossuth Square during his visit on 30 April, Cardinal Péter Erdő, the Archbishop of Esztergom-Budapest, said on Wednesday.

A total of 20,000 seats will be made available, but standing room in the square and in surrounding streets will allow hundreds of thousands to attend the papal mass, Erdő told MTI.

“The faithful and pilgrims from within and beyond the borders are all welcome to attend,” the cardinal said, expressing hope that the message of the mass will have a broad outreach.

On Saturday, the pontiff is scheduled to meet around 15,000 young people in the Papp László Arena, Erdő noted, adding that the number of young participants each diocese can send will be discussed by the Hungarian Catholic Bishops’ Conference next week.

Pope Francis will visit Hungary between 28 and 30 April.

Michael Wallace Banach, the apostolic nuncio, told a press conference earlier in the day that Hungary was so far the only country for Pope Francis to visit twice.

The new visitor complex in Hungary at Tisza (2)
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Pope Francis to visit Hungary in April

Pope Francis

Pope Francis will visit Hungary between April 28 and 30, the Holy See said on Monday.

“I was happy to hear that Pope Francis accepted my invitation and will visit Hungary,” the Sándor Palace cited President Katalin Novák as saying in a statement.

The three-day “apostolic journey”, the pontiff’s 41st visit abroad since he was elected in 2013, will include meetings with Hungary’s heads of state and government on Friday, the Vatican said.

According to the programme of the visit published on katolikus.hu, Francis will also address state dignitaries in the prime minister’s offices in the Buda Castle.

He will meet bishops, priests, monks, seminarists and other religious officials in Budapest’s St Stephen’s Basilica on the same day.

On Saturday, the pontiff is scheduled to meet young people in the Papp László Arena, and people in need and refugees in a downtown church.

He will celebrate mass on Kossuth Square on Sunday.

Cardinal Péter Erdő, the Archbishop of Esztergom-Budapest, welcomed that the visit would take place in Budapest, adding “we will be happy to receive priests, congregations and pilgrims from Hungary and beyond the borders.”

Hopefully, the meeting “will be an important step on the road we travel together towards Christ”, Erdő said.

The Government Communications Centre welcomed the announcement of the papal visit.

“The Holy Father is an envoy of peace, which the peoples of central and eastern Europe are in great need of,” the centre said in a statement.

The government will provide all the assistance necessary for the preparations for state and religious programmes during the visit, the statement added.

Aid Hungary
Read alsoHungarian Reformed Church Aid helps over 200,000 Ukrainians

Hungarian Reformed Church Aid helps over 200,000 Ukrainians

Aid Hungary

The Hungarian Reformed Church Aid has helped more than 200,000 people since the start of the war in Ukraine, the organisation said on Friday.

Around 1,000 tonnes of supplies have been delivered to those in need, most of it having gone to those who fled to Hungary, Márton Juhász, the organisation’s managing director, told a press conference. The rest went to western Ukraine’s Transcarpathia region and other parts of the country, he said. The supplies have mainly consisted of durable food, health and medical equipment and hygiene supplies, he said, adding that power aggregators have also been donated.

The Hungarian Reformed Church Aid does not distinguish between nationalities, Juhász said, adding that it helps Hungarians and people of other nationalities equally. He noted that the organisation began recruiting volunteers on social media the day after the outbreak of the war last year, adding that thousands had registered within hours. The organisation has so far provided assistance at 29 locations and has helped over 200,000 people with its 4,700 volunteers, Juhász said.

Pope Francis to visit Hungary this spring

Pope Francis is planned to visit Hungary this year. Prime Minister Viktor Orbán had a formal meeting with the Pope in the Vatican last April, after the Hungarian parliamentary elections. At the meeting, the Prime Minister formally invited him to visit Hungary the following year.

The state visit to Hungary will take place in the spring, according to the Hungarian Catholic portal Katolikus.ma.

Official announcement

The visit has not yet been confirmed by the Vatican. Although Index.hu reports that an official announcement must be published by the Vatican, Hungary has already confirmed the news. The press report was confirmed by István Simicskó, the whip of the Christian Democratic People’s Party (KDNP). Simicskó recently held a press conference in Balatonfüred, Hungary, where he mentioned the visit of the Pope. As he said,

Pope Francis will come to Budapest again at the end of April to visit Hungarians and promote peace.

Preparations for the Pope’s visit have been underway for a while. When President of Hungary Katalin Novák met the Pope in the Vatican last August, she handed over the official letter of invitation. At the same time, Pope Francis confirmed his intention to visit. Preparations for the visit then began in Hungary, Katolikus.ma reports.

The visit

As Katolikus.ma has learned, the visit will last several days. According to their information, the Pope will meet Viktor Orbán and Katalin Novák in Budapest. He also plans to visit members of the diplomatic corps, church representatives and several priests. In addition, he is expected to meet representatives of the historic churches.

Although the exact schedule of the visit has not yet been finalised, the portal acquired information that Pope Francis will celebrate a Holy Mass in St. Stephen’s Basilica. Furthermore, he will reportedly visit Szeged and several Hungarian cities he has not blessed before with his presence.

World Youth Day will be held in Lisbon between 1-6 August this year. Therefore, the theme of the Pope’s visit to Hungary will also be youth. As the portal writes, this visit is likely to assist the Hungarian Church to prepare for World Youth Day.

Budapest újpest green square
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Hungarian minister: This is the age of dangers

Varga Judit

“There is a growing need for Christian faith and values and it is especially important that we should protect them among all circumstances and pass on to posterity,” the Hungarian justice minister said in Téglás, in north-eastern Hungary, on Sunday.

Judit Varga attended the consecration ceremony of the Greek Catholic church after renovation in the town, and said in her address that “we live in an age of dangers” not only including the war in a neighbouring country but “the European Union building a Europe rejecting traditional European values”.

“But we believe that Europe is supported by its Jewish-Christian roots,” she said, adding that Europe’s “building stones” were Christian communities, families, nations, and the traditional churches.

Referring to the war in Ukraine as the “greatest, most difficult and acute problem” for the eastern part of Europe, she said the Hungarian government had advocated a pro-peace position since the beginning of the conflict. “Any bloodshed is pointless and disputed issues must be settled at the negotiating table,” she said. The government takes responsibility for Ukraine’s 150,000-strong ethnic Hungarian minority, who would be “directly jeopardised if Hungary allowed the transit of weapons deliveries through its territory into Ukraine.

She said, however, that the government was “fulfilling all moral obligations”: it had helped over one million refugees fleeing Ukraine and had sent 3,100 tonnes of aid worth HUF 7.2 billion (EUR 18 million) to Transcarpathia since the outbreak of the war. The aid programme the minister called “the largest humanitarian action in Hungary’s history”, would be continued “as long as necessary”, she said.

In another development, Varga said the government had provided assistance to the construction of 150 churches and the renovation of 3,000 chapels in the country in the past 13 years. Hungary’s largest churches currently run 350 kindergartens, 546 primary schools and 255 secondary schools, the latter serving 55,000 students, one fourth of the country’s total.

The government has contributed HUF 40 million to finance the decorative painting of the Greek Catholic church in Téglás.

türkiye earthquake
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Hungarian Baptist Aid sending rescue team to earthquake-hit Türkiye

Baptist

The Hungarian Baptist Aid is sending a special rescue team to Türkiye to help with search and rescue efforts following a major earthquake that hit the country on Monday.

The HUBA Rescue24 international team and an emergency medical team will be leaving for Türkiye on Monday evening after a request for international assistance by the Turkish authorities, the organisation said in a statement.

The team has already assembled its equipment and made contact with Turkish colleagues they have worked with in the past, they said.

Mark Szabó, a member of the search and rescue team, told MTI that the team will comprise 19 people and two rescue dogs.

The team is constantly staying updated on the situation in Türkiye, Szabó said, adding that they are taking with them an inflatable tent and power generators. He said they expect their mission to take 7-10 days, beginning with rescue efforts and then providing medical assistance.

The Baptist Aid’s special rescue team also provided assistance to Türkiye after earthquakes in 1999 and 2001.

As we wrote today, the building of the Hungarian embassy in Ankara has been temporarily evacuated following the earthquake in Türkiye, a Hungarian man in the danger zone. Details HERE.

  • Read also: Hungary provides immediate assistance to earthquake-hit Türkiye – UPDATE

PHOTOS: Esztergom-Budapest has new auxiliary bishop

New bishop Hungary

Pope Francis has accepted the resignation of Ferenc Cserháti, the auxiliary bishop of Esztergom-Budapest who has reached the age of 75, and appointed Balázs Martos Levente, rector of the Central Education Institute for Priests, to the position, the Hungarian Catholic Bishops’ Conference (MKPK) said in a statement on Friday.

Martos Levente was born on November 18, 1973 in Szombathely and began his theological studies in 1992 at the central seminary in Budapest before commencing studies in Rome in 1994. In 1998, he was ordained a priest in Szombathely. In 2002, he obtained a doctorate in theology at the Faculty of Theology of Pázmány Péter Catholic University (PPKE).

Since 2014, he has been a member of the Pontifical Biblical Commission. In September 2019, the MKPK appointed him rector of the Central Education Institute for Priests.

Gábor Bethlen statue Maszol Facebook
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Minister: Hungary wants to be Ukraine’s friend

ukraine hungarians on front war transcarpathia

“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.

Ukraine Orbán Zelensky
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