Budapest: Hungary will block Ukrainian relations with NATO
Radio Liberty reports that Hungarian Foreign Minister Péter Szijjártó, following a meeting with Chairman of the Transcarpathian Hungarian Cultural Association (KMKSZ) and Verkhovna Rada MP Vasyl Brenzovich, stated that Hungary will not help facilitate a meeting between the defense ministers of NATO and Ukraine.
According to Szijjártó, Hungary's position remains unchanged; Budapest will not support the European aspirations of Kyiv while it "violates European and international law."
The Minister also added that Hungary is ready for consultations and to reach an agreement with Kyiv on the issue of the law on education, but only if its contents are in line with "the interests and the desires of the Hungarian minority in Zakarpattia."
Szijjártó stated that officially Budapest still considers the Ukrainian law on education to be directed against international and European norms, as "in accordance with the expectations of the EU, rights already obtained by minorities cannot be taken away."
On September 28, 2017 the law "On Education", which specifically designates that the language of the educational process in institutions of learning may only be the state language, came into force. Languages of national minorities, including Russian, will only be studied until the fifth grade; and by 2020, education in Ukraine will become entirely in Ukrainian.
The document provoked sharp criticism from a number of countries, in particular Hungary. Budapest has appealed to the UN High Commissioner for Human Rights to conduct an investigation over the Ukrainian law.