Hungary FM: Ukraine's Ambassador Summoned Again

Ukraine’s ambassador to Hungary has once again been summoned to the Ministry of Foreign Affairs and Trade, this time regarding the arson attack on the church in Palagykomoroc, Transcarpathia. The ministry is to transfer the necessary funds for the church's restoration by the end of the day, Peter Szijjarto said in a statement in Budapest on Thursday.

Minister of Foreign Affairs and Trade Peter Szijjarto (Photo: MTI/Tamas Purger)

Following the session of the Hungarian-Uzbek joint economic committee, Minister of Foreign Affairs and Trade Peter Peter Szijjarto informed the press that anti-Hungarian graffiti had been spray-painted on the walls of the Greek Catholic church, which was then set on fire, in Palagykomoroc (Palagy Komarivci) in Transcarpathia.

Peter Szijjarto summoned Ukraine’s ambassador to Hungary, Sandor Fegyir (Photo: AFP)

Peter Szijjarto Summoned Ukraine’s Ambassador to Hungary, Sandor Fegyir

The foreign minister stated:

It is unacceptable, outrageous, shocking and disappointing that such brutal attacks against a national community can take place in a country that is supposedly seeking to join the European Union.

He pointed out that these anti-Hungarian attacks began ten years ago in the form of laws, when they began to systematically take away the community’s language rights. 

Ten years ago, they began systematically using laws to restrict access to the Hungarian mother tongue. Ten years ago, they began systematically taking away the Hungarians’ opportunity to learn in their mother tongue. That is how these attacks began,

he emphasized.

The Ukrainian state is responsible for all this. We have been asking them to stop for ten years. For ten years, we have been pointing out in every international forum that Hungarians in Transcarpathia are under serious attack. It started with laws, continued with forced conscription, physical abuse, and church arson,

the minister said. He also condemned European political leaders for turning a blind eye and refusing to acknowledge that in Ukraine, which they want to fast-track into the European Union, "there are brutal, open attacks combined with physical intimidation against the Hungarian national community."

It is a rhetorical question: where are the NGOs now, where are the human rights activists, where are the Soros organizations, and where are those who scrutinize every single Hungarian legislative amendment with a magnifying glass? Why is Brussels silent at a time like this?

he asked. Finally, he announced that he had instructed the ministry to transfer the necessary funds for the church's restoration to the affected parish by the end of the day.

Deputy Minister and Parliamentary State Secretary Levente Magyar also shared details on social media, stating that he had met with Sandor Fegyir.

In the past few minutes, I received Sandor Fegyir, Ukraine’s ambassador in Budapest, whom I summoned to the foreign ministry because last night in a Transcarpathian village, threatening anti-Hungarian graffiti appeared on a church, which was then set on fire,

he wrote. He added that Palagykomoroc is a Hungarian-populated village in Transcarpathia, and that the perpetrators used the desecration of the Greek Catholic church to send the message that Hungarians are not safe in their own homeland.

I informed the ambassador that the Hungarian government expects an immediate and effective investigation into the incident, the identification and punishment of the perpetrator(s), and a clear declaration that the Ukrainian authorities will not tolerate any form of ethnically motivated provocation, hate speech, or intimidation in Transcarpathia,"

he concluded his post.

Cover photo: Minister of Foreign Affairs and Trade Peter Szijjarto (Photo: MTI)