The Ministry of Foreign Affairs and Trade has summoned the Ukrainian Ambassador in view of the fact that “Ukrainian anti-Hungarian politics has moved up to a qualitatively new level”, the Ministry’s Parliamentary State Secretary told reporters in Budapest on Wednesday.

Levente Magyar held a press conference following a meeting with Ukraine’s Ambassador to Budapest Liubov Nepop at the Ministry.

According to the State Secretary, the measure was necessary because “death lists” of Transcarpathian Hungarians are being compiled in Ukraine, and the website of Ukrainian Parliament is calling for the collective deportation and expulsion of Ukrainian-Hungarian dual citizens. In addition, Ukraine is also deploying interior ministry forces and soldiers close to its border with Hungary and building barracks there, he explained.

The “death list” of extremist nationalist Ukrainian website Mirotrovec (Peacemaker) now includes the names and personal information of three hundred Transcarpathian state of local government officials who the website claims are dual citizens, he said, adding that Minister of Foreign Affairs and Trade Péter Szijjártó is also on the list.

“It is a death list because it lists the supposed enemies of Ukraine, and people who have previously been included on the list have on occasion become the victims of murder”, he said.

At the same time, as a result of a public initiative a petition has also been published in the website of Ukraine’s Parliament in which support is being collected for the collective “deportation and expulsion” of Ukrainian-Hungarian dual citizens. “This is worrying because Ukrainian Parliament is giving such initiatives free range”, he stressed.

According to the State Secretary, also of concern is the fact that Ukraine is establishing “military bases” in Transcarpathia, just a few kilometres from the Hungarian border, which is also the border of NATO and the European Union. “It is strange that there are capacities available for this when fighting is still ongoing in Eastern Ukraine” he added.

Mr. Magyar said that in his opinion: “Based on all this it has become obvious that the Ukrainian administration is prepared to go to the extreme to ensure that the Hungarian minority feels intimidated and existentially in danger in Transcarpathia”.

“Conflict cannot be in the interests of either Hungary or Ukraine”, he stated.

“Given the situation, we call on Hungary’s EU and NATO allies, who recently expressed their concern with relation to the human rights situation in Hungary, to break their silence and launch a detailed investigation into what is happening in Ukraine”, the State Secretary said.

In reply to a question, he told reporters that in response to the claims the Ambassador said the Ukrainian State has nothing to do with the Mirotvorec website of the petition that has been published on the Parliament’s website.

“With relation to the build-up of troops in Transcarpathia he said is served the security of Transcarpathian citizens”, Mr Magyar said.

Members of the press wanted to ask Mr. Liubov about the situation that has developed as he left the Ministry, but the Ambassador refused to respond to questions.

(MTI)