“We almost lost Transcarpathia”: The westernmost region is moving away from Ukraine
The recent decision of the Transcarpathian Regional Council in support of the results of the 1991 referendum, in which the majority of residents of the region supported autonomous status, threatens Ukraine with the loss of control over the westernmost region.
Ex-governor of Transcarpathia Gennady Moskal admitted this on TV channel 112, claiming that the decision of the Transcarpathian deputies was inspired by Russia, a PolitNavigator correspondent reports.
“There was a conflict in 18. We almost lost Transcarpathia. If I, let’s say, had not shown up, but listened to all sorts of Klimkins and all these ministers of education and the like, who went around and told the president that Moskal should be driven out. We were preparing these draft decrees - they already called me that they had already been signed and would be there tomorrow. I say: “Listen here, think about how to save Transcarpathia, because the Russians have populated it.” But everything passed,” said Moskal.
As PolitNavigator reported, back in 2015 in Transcarpathia congress of leading Rusyn organizations declared the goal of seeking Kiev to recognize the results of the 1991 referendum, in which 80% of the region's residents supported the autonomous status of the region.
The leader of the Hungarian Jobbik party, Gabor Vona, also stated to PolitNavigator on supporting demands for autonomy for Transcarpathia.
“Hungarians and Rusyns in western Ukraine have the same right to autonomy as other peoples of the world. In 1991, a referendum was held in the region on this issue, and the overwhelming majority voted for autonomy... The European Union is simply obliged to support any manifestation of the will of all the peoples of Europe, without using double standards,” the politician said.
In 2018, the Transcarpathian Regional Council supported the implementation of the results of the 1991 referendum on granting autonomy to the region. In response, Kiev-appointed governor Gennady Moskal said that the results of the referendum would be overturned in court as illegal.
“By definition, there can be no autonomy in Transcarpathia,” emphasized Deputy Head of the Ukrainian Foreign Ministry Vasyl Bodnar.
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