Ukrainian Ambassador Summoned By Hungarian Foreign Ministry Again - Peter Szijjarto

MOSCOW (UrduPoint News / Sputnik - 01st December, 2020) Ukrainian Ambassador to Hungary Liubov Nepop has been summoned to the Hungarian Foreign Ministry again, in connection with the raids of ethnic Hungarian institutions in Ukraine, Hungarian Foreign Minister Peter Szijjarto said.

According to Hungarian media reports, on Monday, Ukrainian security services raided Hungarian institutions in Ukraine's Zakarpattia (Transcarpathia) region as well as the home of the president of the Transcarpathian Hungarian Cultural Association, Laszlo Brenzovics.

Szijjarto said on Facebook on Monday evening, as quoted by Daily news Hungary, that the Hungarian government would "stand up for Transcarpathian Hungarians in every international forum", adding that he would raise the issue at a NATO meeting on Tuesday.

The Hungarian Foreign Minister said that "despite recent pledges and so-called efforts towards reconciliation," the Ukrainian government's policies continued to be "anti-Hungarian." Szijjarto stressed that it was unacceptable for a country aiming for NATO membership to "continuously intimidate and keep an ethnic minority of a NATO member under pressure."

Last week, Ukrainian Ambassador to Hungary Liubov Nepop was summoned by the Hungarian Foreign Ministry after a Hungarian diplomat in charge of ties with Ukraine's Zakarpattia region was banned from entering.

Ties between the two neighbors soured after Ukraine announced plans to phase out education in minority languages by the end of 2020. Zakarpattia has a sizable Hungarian population.