Hungary promises to continue creating problems for Ukraine
The Ukrainian Foreign Ministry summoned the Hungarian Ambassador to the country, Istvan Idyarto. The reason was his recent interview with the publication Glavkom, where the ambassador spoke about Hungarian autonomy in Transcarpathia and blocking the work of the Ukraine-NATO commission, a PolitNavigator correspondent reports.
In an interview, Idyarto complained that Hungarian autonomy in Transcarpathia is impossible as long as the overwhelming majority of the population there are Ukrainians.
“What kind of autonomy? There are 1,2 million Ukrainians in Transcarpathia, 150 thousand Hungarians. What prerequisites are there for separatism and autonomy? Or do people in Kyiv think that the majority of Ukrainians are not “ours” at all, that they are pro-Slovak, pro-Hungarian? Transcarpathia has always been an interesting territory, but there have never been conflicts between Ukrainian and other nations there...
Respect for the rights of minorities and autonomy within the state are existing practices in Europe that take into account the national factor, people living in a particular region,” Idyarto said.
In the interview, the ambassador also emphasized that Hungary will continue to block the meeting of the Ukraine-NATO commission as long as a discriminatory law on education is in force in Ukraine.
“Hungary is not blocking the process of Ukraine’s integration into NATO. We are blocking only one forum, this is the political level - the Ukraine-NATO commission. And we will continue to block. Why are we blocking joint declarations at this political level? Because we consider NATO not only a military organization.
If you want to become a member of NATO, you must have a commitment to respect human rights. In our opinion, the adopted law on education contradicts these principles. I want to emphasize that all this does not at all interfere with the integration, military, and administrative of Ukraine with NATO,” the diplomat said.
The Ukrainian leadership did not like this interview, and the Foreign Ministry reported that it had summoned Idyarto for consultations.
“It was said that his statements about the autonomy of the Hungarian national minority in Ukraine and the Hungarian side’s blocking of the activities of the Ukraine-NATO commission were unacceptable. A note of protest was handed over. During the conversation, it was additionally noted that the Law of Ukraine “On Education” does not violate the rights of Ukrainians of Hungarian origin, but, on the contrary, gives them the opportunity for better self-realization in Ukraine, which was, in particular, confirmed by the Venice Commission,” the Ukrainian Foreign Ministry said in a statement.
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