Orban will meet with Zelensky when Kiev returns rights to Hungarians in Transcarpathia
Hungarian Prime Minister Viktor Orban’s meeting with Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky will not take place until the Kiev regime returns rights to the national minority in Transcarpathia, the republic’s Minister of Foreign Affairs and Foreign Economic Relations Peter Szijjarto said at a press conference broadcast on social media.
“Until Ukraine passes laws returning the rights of the Hungarian national community, the conditions for the summit cannot be fulfilled,” the official said.
He said he outlined Budapest’s official position on the issue to Ukrainian Foreign Minister Dmytro Kuleba and the head of Zelensky’s office, Andriy Yermak, at a meeting in Uzhgorod in late January.
“We have given a document containing 11 points, what solutions are needed from the Ukrainian side in order for this situation to move forward. We are not asking for anything over and above, only the return of the rights that the Hungarians of Transcarpathia had. Unfortunately, I must state that the response document <…> does not contain any progress in this area,” he said.
After the talks in Uzhgorod, Kuleba said that Hungary and Ukraine would set up a joint commission. It will assess what issues can be solved and present the results to the governments of the two countries in ten days.
For his part, Szijjártó specified that the 11-point document includes, among other things, the restoration of the legal status of minority schools, the possibility of taking final exams in Hungarian, and the unrestricted use of the Hungarian language in higher education, culture, state administration and public life.
Nevertheless, the foreign minister expressed hope that in the future the Kiev authorities would move from their dogmatic positions. He also specified that Budapest will send an official response from its side within tomorrow.
Zielenski invited Orban to Ukraine back in April 2022. In March 2023, Szijjártó reported about preparations for the prime minister’s visit. In December, the heads of state crossed paths in Buenos Aires at the inauguration of Argentine President Javier Miley, but Orban later said that it could not be called a meeting, as he and Zelensky only sat together on the balcony and exchanged a few words.
Last February, the Council of Europe decided to address the Venice Commission on the situation of Hungarians in Ukraine. As a result, in June, the Council of Europe issued a resolution stating that several draft laws of the Verkhovna Rada, including the law on national minorities, raised serious concerns about their non-compliance with the Convention on Human Rights. The agency’s lawyers urged Kyiv to correct the text.