In response, the Ukrainian foreign ministry issued a statement saying it would turn to the European Commission and postpone a meeting of the Hungarian-Ukrainian economic committee in response to the move.Continue reading
Ukraine’s appealing to the European Commission concerning a recent Hungary-Russia gas deal is a “serious attack on Hungary’s sovereignty”, Foreign Minister Péter Szijjártó said in Prague on Wednesday.
Hungary’s gas supplies must be secured by its government and “it is nobody else’s business how we do that”, the foreign ministry quoted Szijjártó as saying after a Hungarian-Czech government meeting. The minister insisted that “it is an issue of sovereignty”, adding that Hungary was not the only country to sign such a contract with Russia.
Building good neighborly relations is in the interest of the Hungarian government, that is why “it provided Ukrainian soldiers with medical treatment in Hungary, and offered thousands of Ukrainian children, whose parents were impacted by the fights, vacations in the country”, the minister said.
Szijjártó insisted that Russian gas was being purchased “at a good price and in a reliable way”.
Concerning Ukraine’s Hungarian community, Szijjártó said allegations that Ukraine’s contested language law, restricting the right of ethnic minorities to use their mother tongue, had been passed because Russia had attacked the country were “clearly nonsensical”. Ethnic Hungarians have nothing to do with Ukraine’s conflict with Russia, and Ukraine “had better leave them out of it”, he said.
“Despite the pledges, nice words and talks that appear constructive, Hungarian minority rights are suppressed step by step,” Szijjártó said.
Featured photo via Foreign Minister Szijjártó’s Facebook page