Orban ruled out supporting Ukraine until Kyiv returns rights to Transcarpathian Hungarians

Hungary will not support Ukraine at any international forum until Kyiv returns the rights to Transcarpathian Hungarians. This statement was made by Hungarian Prime Minister Viktor Orban during a speech before the country’s parliament.

“We will not support Ukraine in any issue in international life until they return the previous laws that guaranteed the rights of Transcarpathian Hungarians,” he said (quote by Index).

According to Orbán, Ukraine has been persecuting Hungarian schools in the country “for many years.” The Ukrainian authorities want to convert schools in Transcarpathia into Ukrainian ones, otherwise they will close them altogether, Orban claims.

On September 19, Hungarian President Katalin Nowak, speaking at the UN General Assembly, statedthat 115,000 ethnic Hungarians live in the Transcarpathian region of Ukraine. She called on Kyiv to protect and respect the rights of national minorities “not in words, but in deeds.”

Previously, the Hungarian authorities have repeatedly emphasized that they will not support Ukraine’s desire to join the EU until Kyiv stops violating the rights of Transcarpathian Hungarians, including their right to study in local schools and universities in their native language.

September 21 Verkhovna Rada of Ukraine accepted the law on national minorities, according to which it is allowed to use the languages ​​of national minorities in advertising, during various events and when providing assistance, as well as to publish free textbooks for schoolchildren.

The Venice Commission of the Council of Europe made a recommendation to Kyiv to amend the law in June. After this, the Secretary of State of the Hungarian Foreign Ministry for Bilateral Relations Tamas Menczer statedthat the commission’s decision indicates the right of national minorities living in Ukraine to study in their native language.