Following talks with his Ukrainian counterpart Dmytro Kuleba in Budapest, Péter Szijjártó, Minister of Foreign Affairs and Trade, said both Hungary and Ukraine are committed to settling their disputes in a reassuring way.
The minister said there are still some significant issues in bilateral relations where the sides have differing opinions, such as the education and language rights of ethnic Hungarian minorities.
Minister Szijjártó said that once the ethnic Hungarians in Transcarpathia say that these matters have been resolved, Hungary will stop blocking the NATO-Ukraine council meetings.
"A schedule has been agreed upon and a draft proposal received from Ukraine for a joint declaration to specify a roadmap that will include chapters on education, language use and economy," he said.
The minister added that all three inter-governmental mixed committees will meet in June to work out solutions that will be acceptable to both the ethnic Hungarians in Transcarpathia and the Ukrainian government.
Minister Szijjártó stressed the need of joint success stories because it has been proven in other areas that it is easier to settle difficult matters on the basis of joint successes. Transcarpathia could become such a success story, with the Ukrainian president and the government planning significant infrastructure projects in the region.Hungary is happy to contribute to these by providing USD 50 million in tied aid credit, he said.
The minister also said that new border crossings could be opened and a Tisza bridge at Záhony revamped. Hungary is ready to continue an economic development scheme for Transcarpathia where more than 33,000 projects have already received support, he added.