State Secretary: New kind of dynamism and mentality in Hungarian-Ukrainian relations
"Hungary stands up for the people of Ukraine who are suffering, regardless of the current state of political relations," Levente Magyar said.
State Secretary Levente Magyar said he sensed a 'new kind of dynamism and mentality' in Hungarian-Ukrainian relations, which would provide a basis for Ukraine to offer an 'acceptable solution' when it comes to the ethnic Hungarian minority in Transcarpathia 'in the coming weeks and months'.
'I see hope for reaching an agreement in the foreseeable future, which could also fundamentally reshape the Hungarian position on Ukraine's Euro-Atlantic integration,' Magyar told a joint press conference with Olha Stefanishyna, Ukraine's deputy prime minister responsible for European integration, in Budapest.
According to MTI, Magyar noted that Hungarian-Ukrainian ties have been strained by the legal situation of Transcarpathian Hungarians since the mid-2010s. So far, he said, there has been no solution that could fully settle the issues around ethnic Hungarians' right to the use of their mother tongue in education, community life and public administration.
'Today we agreed to intensify the work, with the two expert delegations meeting in mid-May,' Magyar said.
Stefanishyna said Ukraine took seriously all of its obligations that brought the country closer to Euro-Atlantic integration, which, she said, included the protection of minority rights and fostering good neighbourly relations. She said Ukraine valued 'what Hungary offers us in our bilateral ties', including providing temporary protection to those fleeing the war.
She said several issues related to education and minorities needed to be resolved, adding that the two countries had successfully drafted a plan to settle all of the 11 issues raised by Hungary.
The deputy prime minister said Ukraine was 'open and honest' in meeting its obligations, adding that they also saw that Budapest, too, supported 'real dialogue'. She said Ukraine's European integration process had contributed significantly to its changes to its policies concerning national minorities, adding that the country had also taken steps to solidify the Ukrainian language as the state language. Ukraine, she said, had established the institutional system needed for dialogue with national minorities and was drafting regulation to give minorities access to education in their mother tongues.
Stefanishyna said in response to a question by MTI that Ukrainian-Hungarian consultations are set to continue in Uzhhorod (Ungvar) on May 12, adding that Ukraine will hand over its proposals regarding Hungary's 11-point package today.
In response to a question, Magyar said the Hungarian government had a moral and legal obligation to take action against 'the measures curbing the rights of Transcarpathian Hungarians that were implemented in Ukraine after 2015'.
'We've achieved some smaller results in recent years, but we cannot declare that it is completely safe for Hungarians in Ukraine to freely use their mother tongue at all the forums where they could in the past,' the state secretary said. He said the latest round of talks showed that the two countries could reach a point where Ukraine fully guaranteed these rights.
Asked about the government's billboard campaign, Magyar said Stefanishyna had raised the issue.
He said the Hungarian government's mandate and measures would be determined by whether Hungarians supported Ukraine's European Union accession in the ongoing referendum. He added that any welcome changes in the status of Transcarpathian Hungarians would not change the fact that by admitting Ukraine to the bloc by 2030, the EU and Hungary would be 'taking on an unbearable economic burden' that would 'fundamentally rewrite the EU's internal relations'.
Magyar said that Hungary was aiding Ukraine, which he said 'has been in a life-and-death struggle for more than three years', in a number of ways, adding that the two countries had made progress in several areas. He noted a new border crossing point opened two weeks ago and direct train links between Budapest and Kyiv.
'Hungary stands up for the people of Ukraine who are suffering, regardless of the current state of political relations,' he said.
He noted that Ukrainian refugee children can study in Ukrainian at two schools in Hungary, and that the Hungarian government will inaugurate a rebuilt school in Kyiv Oblast. Hungary is also treating wounded Ukrainian soldiers, offers scholarships to Ukrainians and has hosted summer camps for more than 13,000 Ukrainian children affected by the war, Magyar said, adding that Hungary is currently Ukraine's largest electricity supplier.
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