State Secretary: Despite Current Strains in Relations, Hungary-Bulgaria Friendship Must Be Strengthened

Despite current strains in Hungary-Bulgaria relations, a shared past links the two nations.

Somogycsicsó, 2023. november 8. Soltész Miklós, a Miniszterelnökség egyházi és nemzetiségi kapcsolatokért felelõs államtitkára beszédet mond a kormánytámogatásból felújított bolgár katonai sírok és temetõkereszt katonai tiszteletadás melletti átadásán Somogycsicsón 2023.november 8-án. MTI/Katona Tibor Fotó: Katona Tibor

"Our task is to do our utmost to strengthen the friendship between Hungarians and Bulgarians," said Miklos Soltesz, state secretary for church and minority relations, in Somogycsicso, south-west Hungary, on Wednesday. 

Photo: MTI/Tibor Katona

As reported by Magyar Nemzet, Hungary-Bulgaria relations are currently under strain. Bulgaria has imposed a special tax on all gas transiting through its territory, and not only on gas coming from Russia. The extra tax accounts for a quarter of the price of gas itself, hitting Hungary rather hard: Russian natural gas delivered to Hungary mainly comes via Bulgaria, and the bills with hefty penalties are already arriving.

In addition to economic issues, tensions have also emerged between Hungary and Bulgaria in the field of sports. The Bulgarian Football Union informed UEFA, which in turn informed the Hungarian Football Federation, that the Bulgarian police could not guarantee the smooth conduct of the European Championship qualifier  between Bulgaria and Hungary on November 16 and would only permit the match to take place behind closed doors in a venue outside Sofia. 

"The Hungarian Football Federation has been very clear from the very first moment that we do not agree with the change and that the presence of Hungarian fans in the stadium is of utmost importance to us," said Sandor Csanyi, president of the Hungarian Football Federation.  If Hungary does not play the match after all this, the result will be confirmed as a 3-0 Bulgarian victory and the Hungarian team could face further penalties. 

Despite strains in relations, we are linked by our shared past

No one should be taken in by "decisions and incitement coming from behind" aiming to set two particular nations and Central and Eastern European nations in general against each other once again, State Secreatry Miklos Soltesz said during a handover ceremony held with military honors in the military cemetery in Somogycsicso, where Bulgarian military tombs and the cemetery cross have been renovated from Hungarian government funds.

Let us show the importance and strength of the fact that if the nations and national minorities join forces with the Hungarian government and neighboring countries, they will not be pawns but equal partners of the great powers,

the state secretary said.

He recalled that Bulgaria and Hungary fought in World War I as part of the Central Powers, but the peace treaties concluded by the great powers resulted in decisions that led to both countries losing territory and material resources.

Photo: MTI/Tibor Katona

World War II, although neither country wanted it, "dragged both states into Hitler's Nazi empire", said the state secretary, adding that "we could not help it, neither the Bulgarians nor the Hungarians could, we were the pawns of great powers".

The leadership of both states attempted to withdraw from the forced alliance, he said, but were not allowed to. It was when Bulgaria was invaded by the Soviets in 1944, that the great powers decided to enter the war on their side, Miklos Soltesz continued.

He recalled that from this point, more than 120 thousand Bulgarian  troops fought against the Germans in the south-southwestern part of Hungary, costing the lives of  3,370 Bulgarian soldiers, 237 of whom were buried in the military cemetery in  Somogycsicso.

Cover photo: Miklos Soltesz (Photo: MTI/Tibor Katona)