“Dialogue with the new Ukrainian leadership is easier than with the previous one”, Minister of Foreign Affairs and Trade Péter Szijjártó declared in New York on Thursday following talks with the new head of Ukrainian diplomacy, Vadim Prisztajko. This was the first meeting between the two ministers.

“Both parties have an interest in good neighbourly relations, and in relations between the two countries returning to where they were a few years ago”, Mr. Szijjártó said in evaluation of the talks in a statement to Hungarian news agency MTI.

“Foreign Minister Prisztajko showed openness, indicated that any and all questions may be put forward within bilateral relations, and clearly expressed the fact that the new Ukrainian administration is flexible with relation to discussing issues”, he stated.

Mr. Szijjártó said that in his evaluation the talks had been held in a fundamentally positive and constrictive atmosphere. “It has taken us closer to being able to talk about a new beginning in relations between Hungary and Ukraine in the not too distant future”, he said.

The Minister expressed his hope that if both countries approach dialogue constructively, they will be able to achieve results that are also satisfactory to Hungarians living in Transcarpathia.

“Based on our experience concerning our relations with our other neighbours, I can state that the better the relationship between the mother country and the country in which Hungarians live, the better it is for cross-border Hungarian national communities”, he added. “This is be one of the reasons why the Hungarian party will be striving to ensure that relations between the two countries improve”, he underlined.

(Ministry of Foreign Affairs and Trade/MTI)