Kyiv to create Hungarian region in the Carpathian Mountains
The Ukrainian government is making the first concessions to Hungary. The Ukrainian Ministry of Community and Territories Development has unveiled new zoning projects in the Ukrainian regions, which stated that a new Beregovsky region is going to be established, writes Ukrainian publicist Andriy Lyubka in the "Point of View" column on Radio Liberty.
The majority of the population in the area will speak Hungarian, and the region is located along the border with Hungary.
The Hungarians for decades asked for the creation of a separate Hungarian administrative unit in the Carpathian Mountains, promoted the recognition of cultural autonomy and advocated for a special "Hungarian constituency" in the parliamentary elections. Previously, no Ukrainian government made such concessions.
It is noted that, according to Ukrainian experts, it is a big mistake to form administrative regions using ethnic principles. It was previously considered to merge the Beregovsky district with Irshavskyi district or Mukachevsky, that is, to integrate this area with Ukrainian population. The position of the experts was not taken into account.
The newspaper writes that the creation of the Beregovsky district is not a tragedy but is an unacceptable mistake. According to the author of the article, such an administrative unit can cause problems.
"The emergence of separate "ethnic" areas can start the process of creating such administrative units throughout Ukraine. It is even more important to realize the fact that the creation of the Beregovsky region is a problem not only for the Carpathian Mountains," he said.
Ukraine's geopolitical conflict with Hungary has been going on for several years, it has become counterproductive for both countries. It seems that the Kyiv decided to make concessions to Hungary to demonstrate at least some "victory" on the foreign policy front. A week ago, Ukrainian Foreign Minister Dmytro Kuleba made a working visit to Hungary, despite the quarantine.