“Minister of Foreign Affairs and Trade Péter Szijjártó once again discussed the situation in Úzvölgy (Valea Uzului) with Romanian Foreign Minister Teodor Melescanu by telephone on Monday morning”, the Ministry’s press office informed Hungarian news agency MTI on Monday.

“Teodor Melescanu informed Mr. Szijjártó that at the orders of the Romanian Prime Minister the cemetery in Úzvölgy is being placed under the supervision of the Romanian Ministry of Defence, which the Hungarian Minister took note of”, the statement reads. Péter Szijjártó asked his Romanian colleague to ensure that the bodies of the two defence ministries responsible for the care of war graves begin consultations as soon as possible in the interests of restoring order in accordance with bilateral agreements and international obligations. “The two ministers confirmed the need for a peaceful solution”, the Ministry stressed. The statement also points out that the Ministry of Foreign Affairs and Trade is in continuous contact with the largest Hungarian political party in Transylvania, the Democratic Alliance of Hungarians in Romania (RMDSZ).

In late April, Transylvanian Hungarians were faced with the fact that the local government of the nearby town of Dărmănești (Dormánfalva) had arbitrarily established a Romanian plot at the Hungarian First World War military cemetery in Úzvölgy and erected a memorial. On Thursday, thousands of Romanians descended on the cemetery to take part in the official inauguration of the memorial. Local Szeklers attempted to prevent this with a human chain, but the Romanians pushed their way into the cemetery by force.

(MTI)