The leader of the Trancarpathian Hungarian cultural association KMKSZ said Ukrainian-Hungarian relations and the situation of the region’s Hungarian community had taken a worrying turn.
“We hope the situation will soon be settled in Transcarpathia,” Tamás Schanda said.
The foreign minister said “extreme elements and manifestations” must be eliminated from Hungarian-Ukrainian relations.
The foreign minister has urged the Organisation of Security and Cooperation in Europe (OSCE) special Ukraine mission to set up a permanent presence in Transcarpathia.
The ruling Fidesz party has condemned the “repeated and continual harassment” of ethnic Hungarians in Transcarpathia by the Ukrainian authorities.
An MEP for Hungary’s ruling Fidesz said the “political pressure” being exerted on Transcarpathian Hungarians and “attacks” directed against the community and their leaders by Ukraine are “unacceptable”.
Ukrainian security service commandos raided several Hungarian institutions in Transcarpathia as well as the home of the president of the Transcarpathian Hungarian Cultural Association, László Brenzovics.
The vaccines, against diphtheria, pertussis, tetanus, influenza and poliomyelitis, have been donated as part of a 5-year Hungarian assistance program.
Péter Szijjártó, Minister of Foreign Affairs and Trade, said on Facebook that his most recent talks with Ukrainian Foreign Minister Dmitro Kuleba in Budapest had been characterized by correctness and a friendly atmosphere.
Péter Szijjártó, Minister of Foreign Affairs and Trade, said restoring relations would lie in the interest of both countries and the ethnic Hungarian community in Ukraine’s Transcarpathia region.
“Hungary won’t surrender the Transcarpathian Hungarian community to geopolitics,” said Foreign Minister Péter Szijjártó, announcing that Hungary did not approve the NATO Ambassadors’ joint statement on Ukraine.
In a letter to European Union officials, Fidesz MEP Andrea Bocskor has asked for the EU to take action in protecting the Hungarian community in western Ukraine’s Transcarpathia region.
Talks between the Hungarian Ambassador and the regionally responsible head of department at the Ukrainian Foreign Ministry occurred on the initiative of Ambassador István Íjgyártó, and were aimed at improving bilateral relations