The Hungarian administration must continue to focus primarily on the interests and considerations of the Hungarian nation, meaning it must protect the people of Hungary during the migration crisis, but helping those in need is also important to the Government”, the Ministry of Human Capacities’ Minister of State for Churches, National Minorities and Civil Affairs told Hungarian news agency MTI on Wednesday in Zagreb.

Miklós Soltész spoke to reporters in the Croatian capital following a meeting with Archbishop of Zagreb Josip Bozanić, the main topic of which was the migration crisis.

“Western Europe’s approach to the migration crisis has created an unmanageable situation in Croatia and Hungary”, the Minister of State highlighted.

“Archbishop Bozanić, my other negotiating partners and I agreed on the important role of Christian charity organisations in helping migrants, but the problem must be handled where it arose: in Turkey, Lebanon, Iraq and Syria”, he said. “We must provide assistance to the refugee camps in those countries”, he added.

The Minster of State also stressed that although the dangers of the migration crisis are evident, we must continue to help those in need.

According to Mr. Soltész, the offensive outbursts against Hungary by Croatian Prime Minister Zoran Milanović have not worsened relations between the two countries. Charity organisations funded by the Hungarian Government often provide assistance to their Croatian partners, he added, highlighting the fact that thanks to donations collected in the United States by Hungarian Baptist Aid, some 300 thousand US Dollars in aid are being distributed on Croatian territory.

“This once again shows that we in Hungary would like to help the migrants and the people of Croatia irrespective of the approach of Croatia’s political leaders to Hungary”, the Minister of State said.

During his visit to Zagreb, Mr. Soltász also visited the Ady Endre Hungarian Culture Circle, where he met with leaders of the Hungarian community in Croatia.

(Ministry of Human Capacities/MTI)