Yermak, Kuleba and Szijjarto met with leaders of the Hungarian community in Transcarpathia to strengthen Ukrainian-Hungarian relations
Kyiv • UNN
In Uzhhorod, Ukrainian and Hungarian officials, including Andriy Yermak and Peter Szijjarto, met with leaders of the Hungarian community in Zakarpattia to discuss issues important to the Hungarian minority. They agreed to work on resolving disputes and move forward in bilateral relations between the two countries.
In Uzhhorod, Andriy Yermak, Dmytro Kuleba and Peter Szijjarto met with leaders of the Hungarian community of Transcarpathia and representatives of churches. The meeting was reported by the press service of the President's Office, UNN reported.
Details
It is noted that the head of the Office of the President of Ukraine, Andriy Yermak, Foreign Minister Dmytro Kuleba, and Minister of Foreign Affairs and Trade of Hungary Peter Szijjarto came to Uzhhorod to meet with the leaders of the Hungarian community of Transcarpathia and representatives of churches.
Andriy Yermak thanked the representatives of the Hungarian community for the meeting and joint efforts on the way to victory over the Russian aggressor.
It is very important that Hungary unconditionally supports our independence, sovereignty and territorial integrity. There are questions, but they are not such that they cannot be resolved in relation to this terrible war. We agreed that we will not give anyone, especially our enemies, a chance to even think that friendly neighbors, countries with such a long history, have issues that can be used against us and against Hungary today.
Andriy Yermak noted that the Ukrainian and Hungarian sides have already begun negotiations on preparing a meeting between President Volodymyr Zelenskyy and Hungarian Prime Minister Viktor Orban.
There is a deadline for the commission, which exists at the level of foreign ministers: ten days to work through all the issues that were raised today. And in ten days, we will have an understanding of what can be resolved and how quickly in order to move on to open a new page in our relations.
The Minister of Foreign Affairs and Foreign Trade of Hungary noted that he had never had the opportunity to meet with representatives of the Hungarian community living in Ukraine before, so he perceived this meeting as a very positive sign.
Peter Szijjarto also noted that in cooperation with the Hungarian community, 11 points were formulated, including the use of the national minority language in all spheres of life, the restoration of the status of the national school and the possibility of passing matriculation exams in Hungarian. These issues were passed on to representatives of Ukraine and will be discussed at the Ukrainian-Hungarian intergovernmental level in ten days.
Judita Petei, a member of the Transcarpathian Regional Council from the Transcarpathian regional organization of the Party of Hungarians of Ukraine, said that the meeting with the Hungarian Foreign Minister in Zakarpattia was a historic event because the Hungarian community had been heard. She thanked Ukrainian officials for understanding the needs of the Hungarian national minority in the region.
You can rely on us because we are equal citizens of Ukraine, law-abiding, honest, and loyal. We are here and we will be here. And you can count on us.
Ildiko Oros, the head of the Transcarpathian Hungarian Pedagogical Society and a member of the Transcarpathian Regional Council from the Transcarpathian regional organization of the KMKS - Party of Hungarians of Ukraine, praised the changes in relations between Hungary and Ukraine. In particular, she noted that ethnic Hungarians are involved in overcoming the problems of the region.
The MP also expressed her belief that this approach would help to overcome the problems and stated that, although they remain partially, they are already being overcome. Ildiko Oros also passed on a number of proposals to the members of the intergovernmental commission, who will work directly to resolve the problematic issues.
