Ukraine's Foreign Minister stresses positive progress in addressing Hungarian minority rights
Ukrainian Foreign Minister Andrii Sybiha (Vitalii Nosach, RBC-Ukraine)
Ukrainian Foreign Minister Andrii Sybiha emphasized the importance of Ukraine's compliance with both bilateral and international obligations to protect the rights of the Hungarian national community, according to a joint press conference with Hungarian Foreign Minister Péter Szijjártó.
Sybiha said that during a meeting with Hungarian Foreign Minister Péter Szijjártó, the parties had mentioned the positive dynamics in resolving this issue and agreed to further cooperation to reach a consensus on all sensitive topics.
“The Hungarians of Ukraine are an integral and equal part of the Ukrainian political nation and serve as a key bridge of understanding between our countries,” the minister said.
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Photo: Andrii Sybiha and Péter Szijjártó (Ministry of Foreign Affairs of Ukraine)
Hungarian issue
The dispute over the rights of Hungarians in Ukraine arose from the 2017 education law concerning the language of education in schools for national minorities. The law stipulated that after teaching in the native language in primary school, middle and high school classes must switch to Ukrainian. The transition period was planned to last until 2020.
The Zakarpattia region is home to about 150,000 ethnic Hungarians, and approximately 170 schools provide education in Hungarian. The main dissatisfaction was expressed not so much by Hungarians in Ukraine as by the Hungarian government.
Hungary viewed the law as an attempt at assimilation and has since repeatedly blocked EU initiatives aimed at supporting Ukraine.
Read more about the reasons for the ambiguous relations between the two states in RBC-Ukraine's article.
