Ukrainian President Petro Poroshenko supports the country's anti-Hungarian policies which incite hatred among Ukrainians toward the neighboring nation, Hungarian Foreign Minister Peter Szijjarto told his Ukrainian counterpart Pavlo Klimkin on Wednesday during the bilateral meeting on the sidelines of the UN General Assembly, according to the Hungarian ministry.
MOSCOW (Pakistan Point News / Sputnik - 26th September, 2018) Ukrainian President Petro Poroshenko supports the country's anti-Hungarian policies which incite hatred among Ukrainians toward the neighboring nation, Hungarian Foreign Minister Peter Szijjarto told his Ukrainian counterpart Pavlo Klimkin on Wednesday during the bilateral meeting on the sidelines of the UN General Assembly, according to the Hungarian ministry.
Last month, Poroshenko said that Budapest was creating a "parallel reality" in Ukrainian-Hungarian relations. The remark came against the backdrop of deterioration of bilateral relations over Ukraine's education law.
"The incitement of hatred against Hungarians being led and inspired by the Ukrainian state will not cease, because the President believes this is a way of acquiring some public support, because his current support is very low," the ministry said in a statement.
Szijjarto added that next year's presidential elections in Ukraine could change the situation.
Ukraine's new education law, adopted last September, stipulates that national minority children will be able to study in their native language only at the Primary school level, with Ukrainian the sole language for secondary and post-secondary education.
Another issue which contributes to worsening relations between Hungary and Ukraine is reported practice of Hungary to grant citizenship to Ukrainian nationals. Hungary has issued over 100,000 passports to residents of the Zakarpattia region, according to the Ukrainian Foreign Ministry. Meanwhile, Ukrainian legislation bans dual citizenship. Budapest maintains that it has the right to issue passports to Ukrainians of Hungarian origin.
