Deputy speaker: Hungary stands by Ukraine, requests guarantees to minorities’ rights
Hungary has condemned Russian aggression from the start and stands by Ukrainian sovereignty and integrity, the deputy speaker of the Hungarian parliament said, addressing a meeting of European Union parliamentary leaders in Prague on Monday.
Hungary has spent more than 100 million euros on support for Ukraine and has accepted some 4.8 milion refugees, Istvan Jakab said.
Hungary has a vested interest in a strong, sovereign, democratic Ukraine that ensures the livelihood of the minorities living there, he said. “Recent events in Transcarpathia, unreasonable firing of Hungarian teachers and the removal of Hungarian symbols are obvious signs of an anti-Hungarian campaign in Ukraine. This is not a bilateral problem as Ukraine is an EU member candidate, and the protection of ethnic minorities is a fundamental value of the EU,” he said.
Hungary will support Ukrainian integration into the EU and NATO if they restore the 2015 rights of ethnic minorities, he said.
