Péter Szijjártó talked about the Ukrainian war, the energy situation, and banning food imports in BBC's Hard Talk program.Continue reading
The world is paying more attention to the voice of women crying for peace, even the thunder of weapons cannot drown it out, said Hungarian President Katalin Novák in an interview published in Hungarian daily Kelet-Magyarország (Eastern Hungary) on the occasion of her recent visit to Szabolcs-Szatmár-Bereg county.
The head of state said in the daily newspaper that she is working to ensure that generations do not have to live through the horrors of war. In her view, both sides in the war in Ukraine and those who support them are harboring false hopes. As long as they do not accept that their war aims will not be achieved, there will be no intention to make peace, she underlined.
Katalin Novák said that in the more than a year since the war began, one and a half million refugees had arrived in Hungary and that they had first met the unity of Hungarians in the Szabolcs-Szatmár-Bereg county, which borders Ukraine. She has visited this eastern county about a week ago.
“For more than a year now, helpers have been stepping up day after day. I can only speak of this superhuman sacrifice with pride, both at home and abroad”, said the President, adding that “the way Hungarians are now standing up is the best face the country can show, and it inspires respect.”
Wherever I go, I will carry the message of the 150,000 Hungarians living in Transcarpathia. They are directly affected by the war, many of them have to mourn their sons, husbands, fathers, families have been torn apart,”
said Katalin Novák.
She added that the situation of the people of Transcarpathia, Ukraine, was already difficult before the war and has only worsened since then. The Hungarian community’s minority rights, which are not extensive anyway, have been constantly curtailed. According to Katalin Novák, many heads of state are unaware that there is a Hungarian national community in Ukraine whose members are law-abiding Ukrainian citizens, who work, contribute to Ukraine’s economy, and many of whom are fighting in the war while holding on to their Hungarian mother tongue, traditions, culture, and identity. “We are helping them to keep and cherish these things,” she said, adding that she wanted as many people as possible to see this side of the coin.
On her visit to Kiev, she said that one of her aims was precisely to empower the people of Transcarpathia. Accepting the Ukrainian President’s invitation, she also took the opportunity to assure him personally that “as a country under attack, they can count on us, their neighbors.”
“But we are also doing our utmost to help refugees,” she added. Katalin Novák stressed that
the rights of the Hungarian minority are an issue and a demand independent of the war situation. These rights must not be violated now or in the future.
“Unfortunately, we are not in a good position in this area for the time being,” the President stated.
On family benefits, Katalin Novák said that protecting and helping families is much more than just family benefits. “For all of us, family is the most important medium, it is where we start from, which we can lean on, which we can cling to, where we can get the most help and strength, wherever life takes us. That is why I encourage young people to take on the responsibility of a family when they are ready,” she said.
President Novák added that Hungary’s family-friendly thinking over the past decade has produced results unmatched elsewhere in the Western world. The number of marriages has doubled, the willingness to have children has increased, divorces and abortions are fewer, and despite Covid-19 and the Ukrainian war increasing uncertainty, these trends are being countered.
Featured photo via Facebook/Katalin Novák
