Kyiv and Budapest fail to reach agreement on Hungarian passports for Ukrainians
Ukrainian Foreign Minister Pavlo Klimkin and his Hungarian counterpart Péter Szijjártó were unable to reach agreement on key issues related to the covert issuance of Hungarian passports to Ukrainian citizens.
Klimkin reported back on the results of the negotiations with his Hungarian colleague after the meeting, which took place in New York, Ukrinform reports.
“After an hour-long discussion, we did not reach agreement on how to interpret this incident. I suggested to Mr Szijjártó that he call back the consul, and as I understand, he does not agree. If the corresponding decision is not made one of these days, he [the Hungarian consul] will be going home, absolutely,” said the Ukrainian Foreign Minister.
Klimkin remarked that the logic adhered to by Hungary is in many ways reminiscent of Russian logic. Budapest appeals to the “alleged existence of nationalist inclinations, the supposed deliberate persecution of the Hungarian community” in Ukraine.
“We have always tried to help our Hungarian community, to help them feel good in the country they are citizens of, and not to be isolated,” Klimkin commented
He stressed that Budapest does not want to accept Ukraine’s perspective, that the Hungarian consul committed an offense.
“I explained very clearly to him: the problem is not only the issuance of passports. Of course, this is a problem, but not only this. The second fundamental problem is that Hungary is violating international law and Ukrainian legislation,” Klimkin emphasized.
The minister added that the Hungarian consuls are instructing Ukrainian citizens how to conceal their new citizenship and their newly acquired rights and obligations. Furthermore, the Hungarian diplomats are calling for manipulation of documents when crossing borders.
“And this is also a fundamental violation of our legislation,” Klimkin said.
Recently Ukrainian-Hungarian relations deteriorated even further after a video appeared online in which Hungarian passports are being handed out to residents of Zakarpattia. Foreign Minister Pavlo Klimkin threatened to expel the Hungarian consul unless the video is shown to be a fake.